My Hero
by SinsofYouth
Summary: In a reality where children can no longer play outside and cops are paid to look the other way, one man has vowed to save the city by any means necessary. But love changes the rules when alter-egos collide. SasuNaru/side pairings pairings. Pending a major story/grammar/spelling overhall.
1. Prelude&Chapter1: Mornings come way

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

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><p><strong>Prelude<strong>

Karin cursed loudly, pushing her sopping wet bangs out of her eyes for what had to be the sixtieth time this minute. The soaked mass of spiky red hair immediately fell back into its previous place on her forehead, covering her eyes. The woman cursed again, turning to bark hot-temperedly to the half-dozen or so burly men carrying boxes into the back of a nearby delivery truck.

"Hurry up you fat lay-abouts!" The red-head shouted above the driving hiss of rain against the pavement. "Sasuke isn't paying you by the hour, so get this truck loaded!"

If any one of them heard the woman, none gave any indication of it. They were used to Karin's aggressive posturing and it wasn't as if she were doing them any harm. And besides, if any of them ever did talk back, she was one of Sasuke's three executive lieutenants; they would find themselves at the very best case: unemployed.

The Yakuza which, for better or worse, basically ran Konoha from the streets up, was governed by very strict rules of conduct. In a place where morals and absolutes went to the highest bidder, honor and loyalty to one's current employer became a man, or woman's 10 commandments. When you were in a gang, you earned the right to talk back, or you had the fire-power to back your mouth up. And while the six guys were pretty sure that they could take the little red-headed witch, they had no desire to tangle with Boss Sasuke. So they bent their heads against the driving rain, continued to trundle packing crates and contented themselves with grumbling internally.

Their reluctance to respond to her verbal abuse put Karin out. She huffed and flounced to her car, a red Ford Mustang. It was too bad, the woman silently mused, she'd almost wished that one of those dimwitted male's had risen to her insults. She'd been in the mood to crack a few heads. She reached for the driver's side door. If only Suigetsu had been there for her to argue with, she could always get a rise out of him.

Silently promising herself that she would find the platinum-haired man and pick a fight with him as soon as she got back to base, Karin opened the car door.

She slammed the door and winced as her wet clothing squelched against the plush leather seat. Once more she cursed.

"Sasuke-kun," The woman pouted to the air. "Why did you have to send me out to this place in this awful weather? I'm so delicately beautiful; this rain is going to ruin my perfect face."

Combing her fingers through the matted tangle of her hair, Karin continued to sulk.

It wasn't as though she deserved to be out in the rain. Sasuke-kun was just so sensitive about the silliest things. Although, the red-head though to herself; if she were honest, she was lucky that the young Uchiha had deemed a month's worth of nightly drug running as a suitable punishment for her transgression. She supposed that she was fortunate enough despite her current situation. If she'd been working for Orochimaru like she had been a year ago, she would most certainly be dead. That… man had been chronically paranoid, and on a huge power trip. He'd seen any deviation from his orders as a personal threat. Karin had seen him blow away several of his right-hand men before her eyes, some for offenses no worse than not showing up to base on time.

It was however, thanks to Orochimaru's itchy trigger finger that Karin was now one of Sasuke's three chief lieutenants. She had been in line to become Orochmaru's next right-hand, a position that seemed to have become a temporary one, when Sasuke had killed him. It was something of a mystery to Karin, why it was the the typically paranoid gang leader had allowed Sasuke as close to himself as Orochimaru had: close enough for Sasuke to kill him.

When the take-over had occurred, a few months ago, Karin had been pleasantly surprised when Sasuke, instead of shooting her along with all of Orochimaru's other officers, had offered her a position in his new order. Karin was a lot of things, but stupid wasn't one of them. She'd seen an opportunity when she saw one and she had taken it. And so she had been working for the Uchiha ever since.

It had only been a matter of months after the death of Orochimaru and with Sasuke in control, the little known underground street gang had expanded. The newly dubbed 'Taka' gang no longer sold black market organs, but had taken ahold of nearly 40% of the cities drug market and in a city as vast as Konoha, that was no small amount. It was all thanks to Sasuke's strategic genius. The man had also gotten into the protection game. In a town where most everyone was afraid of one warring faction or another, peace of mind was a commodity they paid dearly for. Even a few prostitute houses had gone independent thanks to the Uchiha. Karin had smiled when the members of a nearby 'hot house' had sent Sasuke a thank-you card proclaiming him an honorary saint, or whatever.

Sasuke had transformed the ill-conceived, rag-tag band of street thugs into a well-oiled machine that was quickly becoming a power in Konoha.

He'd worked out a deal with the local constabularies to…look the other way should any less than legal activities be uncovered.

He was brilliant, Karin concluded. And certainly he was very…attractive. Well, perhaps more than just plain old attractive. The woman shook her head. Who was she kidding, that man was F-ing gorgeous. Greek gods were up on Mt. Olympus wrestling over who got to use his body once he'd kicked the bucket. Amazon's vied for a glance at his perfectly formed features. He was the paragon of tall, dark haired and delicious.

Karin sighed, removed her glasses and wiped the water stains away with her blouse.

"I suppose I ought to get back out there." The red-head said to no one in particular. "Those idiots have probably run off with all the merchandi-"

Before she could finish, something slammed down on the car's hood, hard, shaking the vehicle violently. Karin pressed a hand to the cool glass of the side-window in an effort to steady herself. She leaned forward, trying to pick out what was perched in the now dented hood of her sports car. It looked like…

The figure disappeared and a split second later her door was ripped off its hinges. It was tossed into the blackness where Karin heard it crash against something solid, probably the van. Before she had time to emit even the tiniest scream the woman was hauled out and flung against an unforgiving brick wall, the air driven from her lungs by the force of the impact.

Karin collapsed onto the alley's slick pavement, instantly soaked to the bone. Her water laden clothing weighed on her weakened limbs. As she gasped for breath, the red-head struggled to move backward with her trembling arms and legs, trying to escape her attacker, which in effect looked something like a fish flopping around on dry land.

She was grabbed once again by her coat front and lifted roughly upwards until her feet no longer touched the ground.

Dizzy and weak from lack of oxygen, Karin found herself staring into the horrific maw of a nightmare apparition.

It, because she couldn't assign a gender to the abstract form, in truth she couldn't even distinguish a form in the blackness before her. The only features she could pick out from the black backdrop was the hand holding her against the brick wall and a pair of eyes glaring out from the darkness. But these wyes were like none she had ever encountered in her life, or conjured in her worst nightmares.

The irises were red, of no shade or hue natural to man. The closest Karin could come to describe that frightening color was burning blood. The pupils were thin and sliced down the middle of those flaming orbs, a slender knife blade emerging from a bloody sun.

"Are you afraid, woman?" Its voice was a low, murderous growl that rumbled out from the depths of the night.

Karin began to tremble, the shivers wracking her entire body and she discovered that she could not form the words to even acknowledge the raw emotion thrumming through her veins. She nodded dumbly instead, wishing that its eyes were not focused quite so intensely on her.

The fiend's eyes narrowed and for a moment the woman was terrified that she had offended it with her silence. But its laughter rumbled out through the crackling deluge.

Karin flinched at the sound which she found more frightening than the creature's wrath.

The monster drew nearer, close enough for Karin to see her own terrified features reflected in its eyes. She felt the creatures' hot breath and a lock of wet hair brushed against her face. The monster let out another low chuckle, turning Karin's blood cold.

"Tell me who you work for." The fiend growled. "Who is expecting this shipment?"

The red-head gulped, fighting to blink the excess rainwater from her eyes. Her instincts told her to give it what it wanted, to save herself. But Karin knew that if she talked now, she would be forever known as a squealer. Her reputation was at stake, and her life. In order to protect both, she would have to play a very dangerous game. Feigning nonchalance, she laughed lightly. "What are you going to do if I don't tell you, kill me?"

The thing's other hand began to trace the line of Karin's throat and jaw, the visibly rapid beating of her pulse. One finger lightly stroking the skin, as gently as a mother would her sleeping infant. The stroking would have been soothing in any other situation. Now, however, Karin could only tremble as fear began to weave its way through her system.

The thing leaned forward yet again; breathing in the woman's expelled breath before whispering:

"Yes."

Karin let out a startled cry as the large hand wrapped around her wind-pipe, freezing the breath in her lungs. She couldn't even force the air past the creature's constricting grasp to exhale.

Karin gasped and struggle, one hand pulling at the hand on her windpipe while the other clawed viciously at the face which had suddenly become far out of reach.

"A name." The creatures voice prompted wearily. "Just give me the name of the street your base is set up on, or the name of one of your suppliers. Give me the name and you can continue to live your worthless life."

The red-head struggled for a moment longer, against the constricting grasp until black began to thread along the edges of her vision. On the edge between oxygen deprivation and consciousness, Karin discovered something about herself: she did not want to die.

"R-ra…" she managed weakly, using the last of the air in her lungs. "R-aime stre-et, in…sou-th…dis-tric-t."

"Ah," The monster chuckled, pleased with his newly gleaned tidbit of information. Its grip on Karin's neck disappeared and the woman gasped for breath; gulping down air like a starving man does food. The thing released her then and Karin fell to the street, coughing and choking as she went.

"Who-" She rasped, greedily sucking in oxygen. "Who are you?"

The creature's deep rumbling growl echoed out from the rains-wept blackness; sending another shiver curling through Karin's body.

"I am called Kyuubi, and I have returned to sweep the streets clean of the taint the gangs have brought to it. Tell your boss," If Karin hadn't known better, the creature had pause for…dramatic emphasis. "Tell your boss, that he should leave before this same day next month, or he will find the consequences…distasteful."

"But wait!" The red-head staggered unsteadily to her feet. "What is it that you want?"

The explosion knocked her back down, mud splattering onto her glasses and adding to the present layers on grime caked to her skin.

She eased her head from the wet pavement and looked in horror at the scene before her.

The delivery truck had been the source of the explosion. It now lay in a thousand smoldering pieces, a useless pile of refuse that hissed angrily as the fierce rain tried to extinguish the flames. And the cargo in the back…Karin didn't even want to think about that.

The men who had been loading the truck had vanished, leaving the woman alone in the driving rain. Whether they were dead or had simply been scared off meant little to Karin's battered pride.

She cursed into the rain, the sound of it drowning out her vicious words as the force of each steady droplette beat down upon her head.

She'd lost a shipment, lost half a dozen good workers, and while she was at it, allowed the perpetrator not only to escape, but had given it the street address to one of Taka's main bases.

Sasuke was going to kill her.

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><p><strong>And now, part 2:<strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Mornings come way too early for superheroes<strong>

"Good morning Konoha!" The radio blared to life, jarring its owner from his blissful sleep. "Take a look outside and check out the beautiful weather we've got today!"

"Noooooo…" The blond in bed moaned into his pillow. His hand reached blindly for the 'snooze' button, punching everyone it could find until the infernal noise shut off.

Naruto sighed blissfully and rolled over, nestling back into the thick, warm covers of his bed. Drowsily, the blond began a subconscious ode to the elusive subject of his desires, his thoughts growing fuzzier and less coherent as he dozed off. _Sleep…what a beautiful thing. He got so little of it now days. He liked sleep…he needed sleep,he'd die sleep…_

The shrill chiming of his cellphone jerked Naruto once more from his semi-conscious state.

Growling, the blond grabbed for the offending device where it typically rested: on the stand next to his bed. Unfortunately, as his fingers scrabbled on the small tables' polished metal surface, he realized that his cell was not where he usually kept it.

Naruto rumbled with displeasure, a sound that resonated from deep within his chest and sat up; planting his feet firmly on the ground.

"Okay," He muttered, rubbing his face with both hands. "I'm up, I'm up…"

The cellphone continued to shrill from somewhere within the refuse that lay in piles on his floor.

The blond stumbled toward the sound, tossing mounds of dirty laundry to either side and over his head. Shikamaru had been saying that it was time for him to clean his place; said that he'd seen creepy-crawlies breeding under the accumulating piles of unmentionables. Naruto of course had argued that he could only find his stuff when it was out in the open and not all tucked and hidden away in drawers. Now, in retrospect, Naruto almost wished that he'd listened to the lazy little smarty-pants. Fortunately, after digging a trench of clear, clean floor half-way across his small bedroom, Naruto struck pay dirt.

The man hefted his cellphone, silencing its frustratingly persistent alarm with the aggravated press of an index finger.

Quiet overtook the blonde's small apartment.

Naruto sighed and began trudging the short distance to the bathroom.

"Friggin alarms," The blond mumbled groggily, pulling his drab grey T-shirt over his head and tossing it to the side without even bothering to look where it had landed. His pants were shed and disposed of with equal dispassion.

Naruto kicked the door closed, switching the shower taps on and turning to the large mirror which hung over the sink. He studied himself in the glasses' reflective surface.

He was a sturdy young man of 24 years, well, 24 as of this coming October, but close enough.

The man's shockingly blue eyes moved over his features: his squared jaw and belligerent nose; his bright yellow hair which hung long and spiky down to his collar.

His foster father: Iruka Umino had said that Naruto looked a lot like his birth father once did with his hair grown out like that. It wasn't something that Naruto really cared much about; he'd never even known his father, or his mother for that matter. According to the orphanage records, both had been killed the night Naruto was born: something pleasant to lull a young orphan boy to sleep at night. There had been more to that story, but Naruto hadn't learned the specifics until much later.

He'd seen pictures of his family of course, and he had to admit; the similarities between father and son were striking. The only difference between himself and the elder Uzumaki were six scars that lined Naruto's cheeks with an eerie symmetry: three on his left, and three on his right.

His eyes roamed downward to the faded scars on his cheeks. Naruto rubbed one absently. They had been a part of his reflection for as long as he could remember, even before he'd come to stay with Iruka.

The blonds gaze flicked over his lean, tan torso, lingering on some of his individual attributes: his firm pectorals, rippling abs; his biceps and forearms bulging subtly with muscle.

Even his legs were long and powerfully built; rigid quads and firm calves were as darkly bronzed as the rest of his uniquely sun-kissed skin and (at the moment) they were just as sore as the rest of him.

As Naruto's eyes worked their way over his chest, and legs they fixed upon the large black symbol emblazoned on his stomach. The tattoo/birthmark hybrid was a huge ebony spiral which encircled his belly-button. The twisting arms of the coil curved outward in three bold sweeps until it was a hand's width from its starting point. And if that hadn't been gaudy enough, the brilliant little curly-cue was also encased in strange lettering-ish/symbol-ish/ random shapes.

The tattoo, like the scars on his face, had been present for as long as he could remember. It was the strangest tat, because it had grown along with him, not stretching or skewing as a typical ink job would.

The mirror began to fog up, a sign that the shower was up to temperature.

Naruto stepped in and hissed as the nearly scalding hot water coursed over his skin.

Strangely enough, the hiss was not because of the heat, or because he had burned himself, but simply because of the pressure of the water which now beat in a continuous stream against his aching muscles. Extreme heat had never bothered the boy, in fact, he'd always enjoyed the higher temperatures. He even seemed to radiate an abnormal amount of body heat; although he'd never noticed until his friend Kiba had jokingly referred to the blond as a 'radiator'.

He was something else, his friend Kiba. Naruto's hand's paused in the middle on soaping his golden spikes. "A friend…" The man whispered to himself, his hands unconsciously resuming their work.

_His mind travelled back, to the time when Naruto had been alone. He hadn't had friends back at the orphanage, no one played with him during the designated playtimes, avoided him on the swings, even refusing his offer of cookies, the ones he'd managed to sneak out of the cafeteria after mealtimes. The parent's would guide their children away from him whenever his orphanage went out to the public park to play. The orphanage 'guardians': the adults which worked and stayed with the kids full-time, hadn't treated him with any affection. There was never any tenderness when they treated his scrapped knees. There was no hint of compassion when they watched him cry. They'd hold his hand and tell him to be brave, but not once had they hugged him, they'd not embraced him. _

_The only emotions he'd ever seen in their eyes were fear and pity, feelings too complex for a child of six to comprehend._

_It really wasn't until after he'd cone to stay with Iruka that he'd found out the reason behind the fear, the story behind the pity._

_His father, a one Uzumaki Minato and his wife Kushina were one of the few people in politics who'd actually cared about the rising gang trends in Konoha. The elder Uzumaki had been a very high-profile lawyer who had taken it upon himself to prosecute the recently established crime bosses. At the time, nearly 25 years ago now, a gang by the name Kyuubi had emerged. Minato had promised the public that he would put Kyuubi's boss behind bars. The man had sworn to break the back of this gang; to make the streets safe for all of Konoha's citizen's young and old, rich and poor._

_He'd run for the office of District Attorney on that platform, his gorgeous and obviously adoring wife adding all of her support from behind the scenes._

_Minato had always been a popular and charismatic man, drawing fans and crowds to his rallies and speeches better than the pop rapper Killer Bee had in his time. But what had probably gotten him the most votes was the small fact that he'd, during the campaign, gotten the leader of gang Kyuubi arrested pending a trial._

_Naruto began to scrub his body absently, his mind moving back once more._

_The day after the much publicized trial, and Boss Kyuubi's conviction, Minato had become Konoha's sixth District Attorney and his son Naruto Uzumaki had been born. That had been the night that mob retribution had ripped Naruto's parents away from him._

_No one knew how, but a group of five men, all members of Kyuubi, had entered the public hospital undetected and had managed to glean Kushina's room number from a front desk manifest._

_The same petite redheaded woman, who spoke little and smiled often; the vibrant, vital woman who was so full of life and love and pride for her husband: 'the liberator'. The new mother, so anxious for the love of her life to see the wonderful new life they'd created. She had been the first to die._

_Minato had followed his blushing bride not long after, leaving his only son alone in the world._

_No one knew exactly why the gang had left Naruto alive. Some thought it was simply because they five didn't know which baby was Uzumaki's. Others reasoned that it was to provide an example to future District Attorneys and the people of Konoha not to get too religious about running the gangs out of town._

_Had it indeed been intended as a warning, it had been flatly ignored._

_Minato had been a popular man. His tragic death and that of his wife, at the panicle of their success before gossip and slander could ruin their heroic images, had instantly elevated him to martyrdom._

_Konoha had called for blood. Within a matter of days, Kyuubi had been utterly destroyed; its members dispersed, jailed, executed, or had simply…disappeared._

Unfortunately, just before the last of the hunted men had vanished, they had left Naruto Uzumaki with one last going away present.

_The fire had made the front page of every major newspaper in Konoha. The Uzumaki's 5,000 square foot two story mansion had erupted in flames and had burned down to the ground within a matter of hours. Authorities had speculated that some preparations must have been made beforehand; otherwise, the fire department would've gotten to the fire and stopped it. But the way the house had gone up in flames, by the time the engines arrived all they could do was watch as the building collapsed in a ball of flame. Every single one of the 17 maids, butlers, nannies, and various other staff had burned along with every penny Minato Uzumaki had ever saved. Apparently, Naruto's biological father and mother had shared a distrust_ _of banks and stashed all the money they had within the vault in their home, a surprising 1.1 million._

_Naruto Uzumaki became a penniless, no account orphan that night; before he'd even left the hospital his third week of life._

_He'd been turned in to the system then, cast into its ugly depths to be swept away with the torrent masses that made up the cold current of obscurity. He was housed in a government funded and thusly under-funded orphanage for slum kids; two block away from where his family's mansion had once stood._

_And so he had lived that the orphanage, starving for attention, for any kind of attention. Until the day Iruka had come into his life._

_He hadn't liked the brunette at first. He'd laughed the first time Iruka had come to visit him, called the young man a happy dolphin and stuck his tongue out at him, refusing to sit still and talk. After that, the blond had been certain that he'd stay at the orphanage for the rest of his life. He'd been so naughty and Iruka would tell everybody what a bad child he was, so now no one would want to adopt him._

_To say that Naruto was surprised the following week when the 'happy dolphin' had come back to visit him, would have been the mother of all understatements. He'd been certain that he'd left the older man with a very bad taste in his mouth. But Iruka not only came back to visit Naruto every week, but brought the 12 year old a present ever time he came. The presents were nothing all that special, a Captain Kakashi blanket for his bed, a bright orange, blue, black and white thing that wasn't much to look at, but was incredibly warm. He also brought Naruto a weird beanie baby fox that was all red and had nine tails. They were nothing that expensive or fancy, but to a lonely orphan boy who'd had nothing of his own for as long as he could remember, they were they most exquisite treasures in the world. Naruto never told anyone, but he'd clutched that fox doll at night underneath his Captain Kakashi fleece and felt more cherished than he ever had in his life._

_But the real surprise had come about eight months or so later on his thirteenth birthday._

_Iruka had come to take him out for dinner, an awesome restaurant called 'The Kitsune'. It had been a popular pizza place with games and a play place in the back where the kids could run around and puck their guts out after they'd gorged themselves on pizza and soda. Of course Naruto had never heard of a Chucky-cheeses, so to him, this place was heaven on earth. _

_He'd eaten too quickly and immediately threw up the two and a half pizzas he'd consumed in an hour. Iruka had been beside him the whole time; both kneeling in the restaurant's brightly painted bathroom, his gentle hands on his shoulders, as the boy's body heaved time and time again. His voice, as calm and comforting as his hands, had murmured encouragements as Naruto's stomach had clenched in pain. It had been then, while Naruto was kneeling, his check pressed against the seat of the toilet after completely purging the contents of his stomach; that Iruka had told him. _

_The paperwork had been cleared a few days before. Naruto wouldn't be going back to orphanage; He was going to stay with Iruka from that time on, if he wanted to, that was._

_The blond had smiled, uncertain really of what to do. He'd wanted to hug Iruka, to wrap his arms around the man's neck and hug him for all he was worth. Because for the first time in his life, Naruto felt like he might've been worth something to someone. For the first time in his life, the orphan felt like someone cared._

_And the rest was history. They'd had their struggles; Naruto would be the first to admit that his own pig-headedness was at the root of most of their squabbles. But then, the boy also had a built-in excuse, being an orphan since birth that'd never had a normal relationship in his life or had any sort of authority figure to look up to. And he'd gotten both in Iruka Umino. And there had been the other…factor. _

_It had happened a few days after the blonds fourteenth birthday. Naruto had woken up in the middle of the night, his entire body on fire. It was as if each separate muscle he had had been cramping at the exact same time. The boy had tried to move, to stretch just like Iruka had told him to after he'd finished a good long run, but his limbs refused to respond. All the young boy could do was writhe in agony and scream out in that torment._

_Iruka had burst in, Naruto had smelled his panic and fear. The boy hadn't had the presence of mind to wonder at his newfound keenness of smell and vision; for that too had grown sharper. Naruto had been nearly blinded when his foster father had flicked the bedroom lights on._

_Eventually, the pain had subsided and the young blond had fallen into the deep sleep born of pure exhaustion. The next morning, or afternoon rather, Naruto had padded into the bathroom and gapped in horror at the image reflected in his mirror. His eyes had become a vicious red, the pupils black slits against the fiery backdrop. His scars had thickened and darkened, and when the blond had opened his mouth to scream, sharp canine teeth were bared to the light._

_Of course, Iruka had never been a Father before Naruto, although, he'd thought that being a Middle School teacher would certainly help. And it probably would've, had Naruto been a normal child. As far as either of them could tell, Naruto had changed, become superhuman. The boy had remarkable recuperative capabilities, able to shrug off what would've hospitalized most Olympic athletes. The blond was also able to see clearly in the dark and could smell so acutely, he was able to sniff a dish once and name all of the ingredients used in it. He also had become faster, more flexible and much stronger. Unfortunately, this also had meant that Iruka had had to replace all of the doorknobs in the house and the silverware before Naruto got to know his own strength again._

_The rest of Naruto's school experience was from inside the apartment or in the back of Middle school classrooms with a computer on his lap while Iruka taught. 'It was for his own safety.' The older man had assured his young charge. But they both knew that this was happening to protect those children who would've been Naruto's classmates._

_But Iruka had tried, always he tried. Even when his young foster son was driving him literally to drink, he'd strived to show the blond how much he was loved and cherished._

_He hadn't wondered when Naruto began to sneak out nights, not coming back until early the next morning. The man had simply asked if Naruto had been out partying and when the teen had said no, he'd moved on, leaving the blond a simple warning to be careful. _

_And Naruto hadn't been out drinking or smoking. He laughed when Iruka'd asked him; it wasn't like the blond actually knew anyone to go and do that stuff with. Instead, he'd gone out and trained. Little by little, he began to master his strange new powers. Until he felt he was ready._

_And one night, darker than the rest, Kyuubi was born._

_Naruto was sixteen, young and volatile and impatient. He'd declared war on all crime and had begun attacking anything that he could find when he went out at night. But fate had slated that the headstrong child be rejected once more. The city had branded him an outlaw and hunted him instead of the gangs. Finally, after four long years of on-again, off again hero work, Naruto was shot. They'd been waiting for him, dozens of members from three different rival gangs. They'd faked a drop off and when the blond had shown up, every single one had opened fire. _

_As far as the hospital had known, Uzumaki Naruto had been heading home from work and had been caught in a cross-fire, lucky to be alive. And Naruto had been lucky. Even his remarkable ablility to heal had been nearly unable to save him from the sheer number of bullets which had pelted his body. But, after a year of treatments and six months of tharopy, the blond had been released. But he was no longer the same reckless, force of will that he had been before the 'accident'. _

Naruto smiled humorlessly. He ought to be flattered. After all, he was the one thing that all the gangs hated enough to actually join together to destroy.

_And through the entire ordeal, Iruka had remained supportive. He'd visited his son every day. He'd helped with medical bills when Naruto's savings couldn't handle everything. He hadn't even asked why the day that Naruto left. He didn't ask for the reason the young man needed go with Jiraiya. The older man had simply frowned, hugged his son and bid him farewell, making sure that the blond knew that he would always have a home to come back to._

And now, two years later, after devoting himself fully to training and fighting, Naruto had returned; and to his disappointment, there wasn't much of a home left in Konoha…for anyone.

So he would do this, he would make a home again for the people of Konoha, for those he loved.

_Love…_Naruto sighed and ducked his head under the hot spray, allowing the water to cascade down his 'd been given plenty of affection by Iruka, his father. He'd received companionship and brotherly love from those who had become his friends.

But Naruto was still searching, still looking and pining for that elusive thing called love. He'd read the stories, he'd watched the movies, he'd heard about how people had found their one special person. He'd heard about true love and wished that it could happen to him. He was searching for that passion.

The blond shut off the taps and stepped out of the shower. He grabbed a towel which hung nearby and briskly rubbed himself dry; ruffling the moisture from his hair.

Plopping the now damp terrycloth into an overflowing cloths hamper, he trudged back to his bedroom just in time to hear his cell phone go off.

Picking up the infernal device, the blond flicked it open and held in to his ear.

"Hello."

"Naruto," The enthusiastic voice on the other end cried. "How are you doing you lazy ol' pile of shi-"

"What do you want Kiba?" Naruto grinned from ear to ear. A call from his canine loving co-worker was always enough to lift his spirits, even during the most intense bouts of contemplation.

"The old lady wants you to come in early." The man on the other end said, his voice apologetic. "Sai just quit."

The blond groaned and pushed a hand through his hair. "I don't know Kiba, I just got out of the shower, how early does she want me to come in?"

The silence on the other end was not a good omen.

"She needs you to open for the next two weeks."

"Kiba…" Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose, struggling to keep calm. "She does realize that I'm already closing for the next two weeks."

"She said you'd say that, and she also said that she'd give you a permanent dollar raise plus whatever overtime you will get already."

Naruto took a deep breath.

"She also said," Kiba continued. "That if you didn't, you'd have to find yourself another job."

"This is blackmail." The blond said sourly.

"She said to call it extortion." Kiba replied, a tad more cheerfully than Naruto would've preferred. He could almost swear that he could hear Tsunade laughing in the background.

"Fine," The man sighed. "I'll get there as soon as I can. That's the best I can do." He snapped the phone shut before Kiba could come up with anymore preplanned rejoinders.

He knew he'd have to get going soon. Despite the short notice, Naruto only lived a few blocks away from the café where he waited tables. And the blond really didn't feel like pushing his luck today; Tsunade's temper was renowned.

Pulling his dresser open, the blond shimmied into one of the few clean T-shirts he had left: an old, black thing with a red swirl emblazoned in the front. He'd picked up a pair of jeans from the floor after climbing into some fresh boxers.

With one last glance around his apartment, Naruto grabbed his keys, shoved his wallet into a back pocket and jammed on his sneakers.

After locking his door behind him, Uzumaki Naruto made his way down the five flights of stairs to the lobby and to the street below. He threaded his way through the crowd towards his job; and an adventure that he'd never even dreamed of.

* * *

><p>Author's note: I haven't figured out how to get past the 15 story limit yet, but I'll find out.<p> 


	2. Chapter2: Sometimes it sucks to be king

Chapter 2: Sometimes it sucks to be king

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, 'sighs' but man, oh man if I did…heh, just kidding, he's all Sasuke's.

The twinkle of early morning sunlight shone off the black barrel of a gun. It lay amongst the wreckage of a fight which had ended only hours before, still clutched in the hands of the dead man who'd wielded it with ill-effect. He'd been cut; the man had; in the few places where bullets had not gouged into his flesh and torn it away. His belly had been cut open, his innards and intestines slowly dribbling out of the slice in his stomach to pool on the trash littered pavement. Ironically it was the only thing still moving on that part of the street, well, besides the crows. Seventeen figures lay there, in the gathering light, each laying as they had fallen, their heads askew, their mouths and eyes gaping in horror to no one. At least, those who still had heads. One or two of the dead men had been decapitated; others had been cut open as had the first. Still others were beaten, their faces so mangled their features were no longer recognizable. And this had most likely taken place before they had died.

It was a gruesome scene, but one that Sasuke Uchiha had become unfortunately familiar with over the years.

_He had grown up in the street gang game. His father, Fugaku Uchiha had been the boss of a clan whose founder had had more pride than brains. The Uchiha gang had been well established and widespread, in the early days of Fugaku. He'd taken a wife, a slender woman with dark hair and delicate features, Mikoto Uchiha. She had given him two strong boys, the second coming nearly eight years after their firstborn: Itachi had come into the world. That had been Sasuke, the second, the next, the other Uchiha. Fugaku had taken so much pride in his oldest son that he hadn't seen the darkness which festered in the young man's soul. His reality had shattered after Itachi's thirteenth birthday. _

_No one had seen it coming; no one suspected. Sasuke had been at school, his first year and his teachers already told his parents that he was an incredibly smart young man. He'd been waiting for his mother to pick him up like she always did. He sat on the steps and waited, politely declining offers of a ride from teachers and the principal of the school who even offered to wait with Sasuke until his mother came. But the boy had stood firm in his refusals. His mother would come, they hadn't forgotten him._

_He'd fallen asleep on the steps of the school. That's where the policemen had found him, huddles in a sad little bundle, shivering with cold hours after dark._

_Sasuke had been taken to the hospital. It was there that he was told._

_His parents were dead, killed by his older brother._

_He'd tried finding Itachi, but the man had fled once he'd finished his grisly task. Sasuke Uchiha had never given up, but there had been a point when he could no longer see the point of chasing after ghosts. So he had determined to establish an organization that his father would've been proud of._

_And so Sasuke had planned and strategized and worked; cow-towing to the likes of Orochimaru until the insane man had gotten wise to the Uchiha's plots. Orochimaru had called Sasuke into his inner chamber one day. He'd claimed that he needed Sasuke to oversee the newest shipment of 'donated' organs. Only the raven had walked out of there that day. Soon after Sasuke had established his own institution to replace Orochimaru's; and thus Hebi was born. But Sasuke never forgot his brother; he always kept an ear out for any information, no matter how vague, about a man with long black hair from Konoha. He had the feeling that he would find Itachi someday and when that fatal hour arrived, the raven planned to be ready._

The man sat, staring out the back-left window of the limousine and at the carnage outside, his face an impassive mask. That was typical though; the Uchiha never showed anyone what turmoil was bubbling up inside of him. Not even his lieutenants knew what plans were locking within the confines of Sasuke's incomprehensible mind.

"Oi, Sasuke," The man smiled, his filed teeth gleaming evilly in the car's gloomy interior. He was as tall and lithe as the Uchiha himself, although his hair was white blond and hung in limp strands around the man's face and neck. Suigetsu Hōzuki, one of Sasuke's elite three, a marvel with weapons, his specialty though were 'big ones'. Sasuke didn't like the man, although he doubted that Suigetsu had noticed any of the particular frostiness that crept into his bosses tone when he would give the gunman orders. Suigetsu was just dense like that, and very difficult to control; which was one reason why Sasuke had elevated him to his current position. The man was dangerous and annoyingly willful. But he was good; Sasuke had to give him that. If there was one thing in the world Suigetsu knew how to do, it was making things die, pesky things, and he liked to go after the things that were hard to kill.

"This is Akastuki's handiwork don't' you think? It looks like something they'd do."

"Don't be impertinent, Suigetsu!" The redhead seated next to Sasuke adjusted her glasses, glaring daggers at the man who'd just spoken. "Sasuke-kun can make up his own mind about what happened. It could've been the gang that started up recently in Sand; um…Shukaku…or…"

Sasuke mentally rolled his eyes. Karin was becoming more and more vocal around him. It was beginning to become a bother. She was pretty enough, the raven supposed, and if he'd really cared about women at all, she might've stood half-a chance at getting some from him. But he didn't, so she didn't.

Aside from the inane chatter which she constantly provided whenever she was present, she was somewhat efficient and surprisingly deadly with the small Gluck she kept hidden under her skirt. The woman also processed the uncanny ability to sense when someone was telling the truth or not. Sasuke had found that skill particularity helpful when meeting with some of his more…unreadable guests.

"The Shukaku gang does not operate within the boundaries of Konoha." A third voice cut in calmly and was silent once more.

"You tell her, Juugo." The skinny young gunman rolled his eyes dramatically and turned to look out the window.

Whatever pithy retort Karin had shot back at Suigetsu, Sasuke filtered out; keeping his gaze roving over the carnage so near to hand.

Out of his three lieutenants, Juugo grated on Sasuke's nerves the least. It was probably because the large man with orange hair hardy ever spoke. The other two were content to squabble until they wore out their vocal cords. It didn't mean that Juugo was any less dangerous than Karin or Suigetsu; on the contrary. He was one of Sasuke's three for a very good reason. The big man enjoyed a good fight, but he always gave his opponents the opportunity to back off and save their own pathetic lives. Because when Juugo got going, nothing survived.

And to that end, Sasuke agreed with Juugo, and with Suigetsu for that matter. This was not Shukaku's doing, but Akatsuki's.

The raven had seen brutality and violence all his life, but nothing could've prepared him for the cruelty that Akatsuki dished out on a regular basis; with little bias.

The group had been formed decades before Sasuke's punny little 'Hebi' ever came into existence. In fact, the man whom the young Uchiha had killed, Orochimaru, had once belonged to the foreign born gang. Although originally, Akatsuki had been content to stay in their origin base province of Rain; recently they had come to Konoha, egger to expand their territory and willing to take it by any means necessary. This latest slaughter was a testament to that.

Sasuke felt his stomach clench. Those had been 17 of his best men; and they had been literally torn apart like rag dolls.

He looked at the nearest body. Well, the closest body that still had a face. The glanced over the stale features, it's mouth frozen in eternal agony; it's eyes vacant and staring into the sky as if the corpse could actually see through the Thermosphere and up into Heaven.

_There would be families to inform_, the raven thought idly. _At least, the one's here who actually had families._

Police would be here soon and it would not do for Sasuke Uchiha, Boss Hebi to be seen so close to the scene of a mass killing, especially one this gruesome.

"Drive."

The limousine pulled onto the main road and moved down the as yet, deserted road.

The raven was not worried about what the civilians would tell whatever cops were dispatched to the site. For if the one or two who came here weren't drunk, or about a mile high, they would be tired; overworked and very much underpaid. And it wasn't as if a formal investigation would be launched. This entire incident, the wreckage, the guns, the bodies, would all be swept quickly under the rug or buried so deeply in reports that no one would know what happened for years to come. Sasuke had paid Konoha's police commissioner Danzo enough to ensure that this unfortunate incident never became public knowledge.

His lieutenants were still talking, which consisted of Suigetsu opening his pointy-toothed maw to impart some divinely inspired wisdom and Karin calmly and factually stating why is was she disagreed with the man's logic.

Sasuke snorted. Yeah...right.

He thought back to the reports he'd read; the information his spies had gleaned. He gathered every piece of hear-say that had fallen into his widely cast information net about Akatsuki.

They'd originally based in Rain until about a year ago; when suddenly they'd gotten militant. Apparently dominating a single province wasn't enough for them. They'd moved into Sand about six months before and tried to bump off the Boss of Shukaku, a red-headed man by the name of Gaara. The operation hadn't gone well and from what Ssauke understood; the Akatsuki had been run out of Sand soon after.

They were a strange group, as far as he could tell from what little information Sasuke had managed to get on the inner workings of Akatsuki. The structure of their hierarchy for instance; if it one believed the stories, was incredibly unique. The group was directed by one man, sort of. As far as Sasuke could tell, Pain was the instigator and the brains behind the organization, the other nine Bosses' were used simply as a means of control to the general populace, and rival gangs, generally through terror or brute force. They did not hire plebs or mercs, nor did they stoop to manual labor: hijacking shipments, rubbing out the competition…that was more their style.

The limousine pulled to a stop in front of a massive stone architecture. The large structure, which encompassed an entire city block and sported three stories, was made entirely out of obsidian. The rock's black abysmal surface gleamed in the brilliant light of midday.

The club, for that was the buildings designated function, was named 'sound'. Not a particularly original name, for a place where noise and…other things could be found in abundance, if one knew whom to ask. It served as a front for Sasuke's more…illegitimate business affairs. But as far as it concerned the Uchiha, the club was quite popular amongst the rank and file of Konoha and the entire province of Leaf for that matter. It was a good cover and so Sasuke did his best to maintain it; thusly the club had flourished. The brunette never admitted it, but it was always nice to receive the extra funds that Sound generated for Hebi.

"Get out." The raven looked at no one as he spoke, keeping his gaze trained out the window.

Suigetsu sighed dramatically, his smile rueful. "I guess he means us, eh, Juugo?"

The trip moved to exit the car. Just before Karin had emerged from the car's leather interior, Sasuke called her back.

"Not you Karin."

The woman glanced back over her shoulder at the man who sat waiting inside the car: her boss. She gulped, wishing for all she was worth that she could run away. But the man's tone had brooked no refusal. Karin felt the blood drain from her face, but she shut the door and settled into the seat across from the brunette.

"Drive."

The car began to accelerate, leaving two men standing on the sidewalk and staring after it.

At length, the white-haired gunman snorted. "Che, leaving us behind without any explanation; that's so like Sasuke: annoying."

"Karin will be fine." Juugo commented, watching Suigetsu's body stiffen and then relax as the man laughed nonchalantly.

"Like I care what happens to that black hearted witch. I just don't like getting left out of the loop, that's all." The man turned and began to trudge towards the club's beckoning entrance. "Come on Juugo, there are plenty of chicks in here worth a good screw. Let's go."

Juugo watched as the distant form of the limousine turned a corner far down the street and disappear, bearing both his comrade and his master away; before he turned and joined the mercenary inside the club.

Karin was worried. Sasuke could tell. She would pull at a strand of her vivid red hair before realizing what she was doing, glance at him to make sure that he hadn't seen and when she saw that his eyes were still trained on the scenery outside, had placed her hands on her lap to ponder in silence…until she'd worked herself into a fuss once more and began to fidget with her hair. Sasuke had of course, been ignoring the woman on purpose, and in his own way, enjoying the discomfort of his subordinate as he watched her in his peripheral vision.

He knew that Karin knew why she was here and that knowledge worried her, or rather, she thought that she did. There were only two options really. And the redhead was probably wondering whether Sasuke had asked her to stay in order to ask her some more questions…or to kill her.

Sasuke wasn't going to kill her, at least, not for now. The redhead, as annoying as she sometimes was, was also a valuable tool.

But that didn't mean he would tell her that. Heaven forbid that he deprive himself of the little amusement he got in life. Toying with this woman and those like her, gave the Uchiha suitable diversion and God knew that precious little in this world could actually stir a response from the ebony haired gang boss. A man who felt no loss; who felt no remorse and saw only statistics. He was not a man to be ill prepared for any situation. But somewhere along the way, he had forgotten how to feel.

The silence stretched for another few minutes before Karin could take it no longer.

"Sasuke-kun…" Her voice was rushed and quiet. "I d-didn't mean to fail you, in fact, I'm going to make sure that such a thing never happens again."

"So am I…"

Karin froze in her seat, the blood turning to ice water in her veins.

Sasuke's eyes moved from the window at last, fixing his subordinate within the confines of his penetrating gaze.

He let the comment linger in the air for a moment, watching the redhead's eyes grow wide at the innuendo before he said. "Tell me every detail you can remember about this…Kyuubi."

Karin went weak with relief, sagging against the plush leather seat. Of course he wasn't going to kill her; she was the only one left who had witnessed the attack. She hadn't gotten the opportunity to tell him this morning. Whatever it was that had attacked the group had totaled her car as well. So Karin had been forced to make her way, on foot, to the club which had been a good fifteen miles in the pouring rain. So when she had finally gotten to Sasuke's office it had been about four in the morning and just when she had gotten out that she'd been attacked by someone named Kyuubi who had red eyes; Suigetsu had burst in and yelled to both of them about the Akatsuki attack. And anyway, her photographic memory was one of the reason's Sasuke had chosen to keep her on after Orochimaru's death a year ago. She had a knack for noticing details, even the most insignificant thing; she would see it and never forget. Suigetsu called her the human elephant much to her chagrin.

He was waiting; still staring at her, waiting for the information she had. The woman gulped and closed her eyes, trying to remember the events of the previous night.

She'd gotten the wind knocked out of her and her head had taken a nasty blow when she'd been flung against the wall, so what she did remember was a little blurry, but still viable.

"He was taller than me." She said resolutely. "Although no taller than you."

The Uchiha said nothing and Karin realized that she would have to be more specific than that to satisfy this man. "5' 9'', maybe 5'10" if he was having a good day."

Sasuke nodded and Karin closed her eyes, allowing more details to rise to the surface.

"Yes, it was a 'he'. I got a good look at his hand while he had me pinned up against the wall and I felt calluses over the surface of his entire palm. It most definitely belonged to a man."

"He was…" Her mind flashed back to the previous night. The wind driven torrents of rain which poured down from the sky; the feeling of cold as numbness began to creep along her fingers; Kyuubi pinning her against the brick's unyielding surface. His eyes came closer in the dark as the man had leaned in close to laugh. That was when she'd glimpsed it, through the harrowing darkness she'd seen a color.

"He has blond hair." She said at last. Blond hair and red eyes; a strange combination, one that she was sure they'd be able to find in no time and put a stop to this man's shenanigans. She nodded in satisfaction, but there had been something else. The scent had been muted by the rain, but as close as Kyuubi had been to her face, it was impossible not to smell something.

"What?" Sasuke asked, his placid expression remained fixed. However, what intrigue he wasn't showing on his face was very present on the inside. The raven could tell that Karin had thought of one more detail and he had the strange feeling that this one last piece of information was the key.

_It had been so faint;_ the redhead thought. _It had played on the edges of her senses; so vague and yet so tantalizingly familiar._

"A smell…" Karin frowned and rubbed her forehead as if that could conjured the answer held within her memory. "It was on his clothing or his breath, maybe both. In any case, it was a scent that clung to him. He was around the source very often."

"What?" Sasuke repeated simply; his expression unchanging, but his tone demanding.

Karin strained for a few more seconds, a small eternity to the struggling redhead, before to heaved a large sigh. She glanced at her Boss from under thick eyelashes, her gaze apologetic.

"I'm sorry Sasuke-kun, but I just cannot remember exactly what that smell was."

"I see."

The redhead blanched and said quickly, "But I'm certain that I'll remember it soon. I just need to get some sleep, that's all."

Sasuke made no indication that he had heard her. He settled back in his seat, his black gaze fastened back out the window. "For now, tell me everything that happened that night. I want to knew every detail."

"R-right!" Karin stammered before launching into as complete a narrative as she could manage; which both parties knew would take some time.

The sun was high in the sky by the time Sasuke was satisfied that he'd gotten every relavent and useful piece of information out of the redhead.

The raven signaled his driver and the when the car had pulled to a stop next to the curb in front of 'Sound' a very relived Karin made a hasty exit. It wasn't until the door slammed behind her that she realized the Uchiha hadn't followed.

"Sasuke-kun?" The redhead asked. "What are you doing? Where are you going?"

From the inside of the car, Sasuke waved the driver on, watching with a slight twinge of satisfaction as Karin's stunned face disappear as the limousine raced away.

"Lunch," He'd spent enough time with crazy people for one day. He was going to find someplace where he could eat in peace away from the company of such annoyances as this.

Author's note: I know that Sasuke's background story isn't as extensive as Naruto's, but I figured that the Uchiha would be more analytical about his past than touchy-feely like the blond. I don't want Sasuke to start off so emotional. I want to stay true to the personality he has in the Anime and Manga. But have no fear; our dear raven will start showing some emotion once Naruto starts digging under that stoic Uchiha façade. But who knows how long that will take 'grins evilly'.

Oh, and please review, your comments are my life's-blood. Thank you Kitk12 for your comment, I try to make the scene as descriptive as possible; paints a better mental picture that way.


	3. Chapter3:Would you like fries with that?

Chapter 3: Would you like fries with that, Teme?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleac- wait...well I dont' that either. XD**

Sasuke Uchiha floored the gas and sped his 1987, limited edition silver Porsche through the intersection just as the light blinked from yellow to red. The man ignored the honks and yells from the drivers he'd cut off. He didn't have time to waste sitting at the stupid junction waiting for the mindless drones of Konoha's working class to take their turn at right of way.

He had little patience for the teaming masses, brainless in their daily routine, stupidly searching for something to fill the void in their pointless lives. And Sasuke could provide for that need. He was Konoha's key to the next fix, the best orgasm, the sweetest alcohol. He could hook you up, he supplied it all. It was probably why he had no respect for Konoha's teaming masses, he'd seen each and every one of them crawling on their bellies at one time or another, begging for that thing to satisfy their disgusting urge.

To say that he was a callous man would have been something of an understatement. For Sasuke Uchiha, the last in that long and proud line, prided himself on his rationality and analytical thinking. Being the head of a gang didn't lend itself well to emotional indulgence. In the underworld, Darwin was a saint, and his law: survival of the fittest, reigned supreme. The raven did feel, he wasn't completely apathetic, but seeing the worst of humanity night after sordid night began to calcify on ones' conscience until the few emotions left inside one's hardened shell had been crusted over with Sinicism and bitterness. He had no time, nor had he the inclination to wile his life away pondering the petty trivialities that came when you allowed yourself to feel more than was necessary.

Besides, he had more than enough to think about what with this recent attack by both Akatsuki and this weirdo, Kyuubi. At the moment, he didn't know where to begin with either of these mounting threats and that was a very dangerous place to be, especially as boss of Hebi.

_And to think,_ The raven pondered without humor. _This morning I was having a good day._

The man sighed, weaving in and out of the slower traffic with the fluid perfection of a professional driver. He did everything that way, with fluid perfection.

He needed to detach for a few hours, Sasuke thought. He needed to reason through both problems, step by step, with calm rationality and in a place where he would not be interrupted for that span of time. 'Sound' was not that place. If it wasn't business about the club itself, than someone would kill a police officer or something untidy like that and leave him to clean up the mess.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke caught a flash of vivid green. His ebony orbs flicked to the source of the bright color.

A wooden flap sign hung out over the sidewalk, plainly visible to both those who walked along the pavement and from the street; a play to generate more impulse customers.

The sign had been masterfully carved out of a wood Sasuke could not distinguish because of the paint which had been lacquered over the entire sheet. The carving was of a single oak tree standing tall and proud in the middle of an intricately carved field of lush green grass. Written under the carving was one word: Leaf.

Curiosity niggled at the typically stoic man. He had never seen this storefront before and the raven made it a point to know about all the businesses in the district. Although, all the places he typically ate at weren't even on this street. Perhaps he's taken a wrong turn, distracted as he was by his mounting social misunderstandings.

Either way, the man pulled over, sliding neatly into an open parking space nearby.

The inviting aromas of spices and seasoned meats caught the Uchiha as he emerged from the car, confirming what he suspected. This place was a restaurant.

He entered the quaint structure, and noticed the new age architecture. The building stood on it's own, which was abnormal in a city the size of Konoha where all the buildings, at least in the downtown area were all built side by side and squished together. Leaf had at least twelve feet of alley surrounding its sides and back. Besides the unusual amount of space it had, the restaurant's front wall was one big panel of glass. Even the door was a part of his odd theme. However the glass used was extremely thick, Sasuke noted as he passed through the front door. In fact he was fairly sure that the glass was the bulletproof at the very least. It had to be with all the gang activity in the city.

As he opened the door, a bell went off in the back signaled his presence to whomever it concerned, most likely, the person who was going to seat him, since none was currently present. Immediately following the small tinkling of bells was a crash, a few shouts and what Sasuke thought was a string of rather vicious and ill-fitting curses.

The Uchiha's eyebrow twitched, the only outside manifestation of the huge inner eye roll he was giving to whomever was still cursing and destroying things in the backroom. He then turned his attention to the inner décor of Leaf café, shifting his focus from the fool in the back.

The inside of the neat little café was pleasantly rendered. The textured walls were painted a deep green-blue with the exception of the far back which was lacquered a dark umber that caught the glow from the fluorescent lights overhead and seemed to smolder. Wood was everywhere, the twelve or so tables scattered randomly along the café's smooth wood floor. The pale gold shine of the polished bar top; the golden-brown accents of oak which slashed horizontally around the room at waist height until they met at the wall to Sasuke's far left at a wooden carving that had been mounted and which covered from floor to ceiling. It was a replica of the tree outside, the one which had been etched into the hanging sign. This one, however, was cut out and carved from one large piece, or several large pieces of oak and fitted together to form the beautiful project.

Several people were already seated. Some seated close to the window, peering out at the passers-by as they ate in silent speculation. Others, couples, had elected to sit on the second floor, a level of the floor which was raised four inches or so above the one Sasuke was currently standing. They sat at high tables on well finished tall legged wooden stools and made faces at each other over their shared meal. The quiet conversation created a subtle hum to the air, adding pleasant warmth to the atmosphere. One could walk into this place and feel immediately at ease.

There was a third level as well though it wasn't much: a second four inch rise in the floor in the very back right corner of the establishment. The space allotted was big enough hold a large mahogany table, finely polished and intricately carved. A dozen chairs, made of the same wood as the table and fitted with dark brown cushions, were placed around. It was a conference table or a place for large parties, Sasuke surmised. It was well back from the rest of the tables and if one were to sit with their back to the wall, they would have a complete view of the entire establishment and a fair way out the front windows.

Further commotion drew Sasuke's attention to the back of the café. A pair of large wooden double-doors, which presumably lead to the kitchens, were thrust open and a man stumbled out into the dining area.

The first feature Sasuke noticed was the man's hair. It stuck out in all directions as if he'd rub-dried it with a towel years ago and it had stayed that way. And it was blond. It wasn't the disgusting bleached blond that many of the typically dark haired people in Konoha had begun to use. Even Suigetsu had gone with that stupid trend, much to his boss' chagrin. But this man's hair was not bleached; it was pure and luminescent. If Sasuke were given to fanciful notions, he might've compared the man's hair to a ray of sunlight, but of course, Sasuke never gave in to whimsy.

As the man drew hastily nearer, his mouth working a mile minute, his babbling became more distinct. The man was apologizing for his tardiness and thanking Sasuke for his patience, not by name of course, for the raven had never seen this man before in his life.

"Sorry, sorry," The man's smile was wide and apologetic and fascinatingly, his eyes were closed as well. He rubbed the back of his neck and somehow walked up to the desk in front of Sasuke with his eyes still shut tightly. The desk unsurprisingly was a sturdy piece made of a wood the raven couldn't identify. The blond picked up a pen and glanced up expectantly at the Uchiha. It was at that moment that the blonds' second distinctive feature hit Sasuke. If his hair reminded the gang boss of sunlight, then his eyes were fragments of the sky fallen to earth. They were clear and pure and frighteningly brilliant and Sasuke observed, very intently focused on him.

"How many are in your party?" The blond said.

"One,"

The blue eyes widened in disbelief an instant before, to Sasuke's slight bemusement, they began to look, really look at the raven.

For his part, Sasuke did nothing but stand silently and wait for the blond to realize that he was basically once-overing this customer.

The man turned a deep shade of tomato red and mumbled for Sasuke to follow him. The blond started towards the left and a small table near the window with two rough looking chairs pulled up to it. But Sasuke had other ideas.

_He was so stupid, certifiably the biggest bonehead in the history of Konoha. What had he been thinking, staring so rudely at a client, a new one? He hadn't, period. _Well, it wasn't as though the guy had seemed to mind all that much. He'd just stood and waited for Naruto to finish looking. Like the blonds' reaction was so typical or whatever.

Although, that the man was used to being looked over wasn't completely out of the realm of possibility. _I mean, the guy was good looking._ Naruto might've even have gone so far as the say the man was hot. His hair was black, which you didn't get much these days, what with everyone wanting to prove their individuality and dying or bleaching their hair all kinds of colors. The only really weird thing about this guys hair was the way he styled it; his bangs were long and framed his slender cheekbones. The rest has been spiked up in the back, whether it stuck up like the backside of a duck, or whether the man gelled it that way, Naruto didn't know. Either way, it…just worked. Anyway, it wasn't the guys hair that made him that good looking and it wasn't his pale, flawless skin either. This dude reminded Naruto of a china doll almost, his pale skin contrasting beautifully with the dark ebony of his hair; except every single china doll Naruto had ever seen was a chick and this customer was very obviously a man.

_Oh jeez! A man!_ Naruto jerked. He was cataloging a guy's features, like a friggin' girl! What the heck was wrong with him? As if once overing him hadn't been bad enough, he had to make a mental list of the customer's best attributes. He'd never be able to look this guy in the eye…although. Naruto grinned. He was going to put this guy at one of Kiba's tables, that way he wouldn't have to deal with his mind's strange and sudden attentiveness to the attractive male following silently behind him. _Tae! He'd just called the guy attractive again!_

"This is your table." The blond stopped next to a pleasant table for two near the window and turned to politely pass the buck. "Your server will be Ki-"

He was speaking to air. Naruto heard a small giggle and chose not to glance in the direction of the other customers who probably found it amusing that one of their servers was speaking to no one; his eyes searching instead for his errant client. The blond finally spotted the man walking towards the far back corner of the café. At first Naruto thought that he was heading to the bar, but the man bee-lined past the wide gleaming counter and strolled over to the large table that Tsunade reserved for conferences and the like.

"Hey!" The blond rushed over, nearly slipping on the polished floor several times in his hurry to get over to this customer who was apparently hard of hearing or something.

"You can't sit there sir," The blond hurriedly explained. "This table is reserved for VIP's and conferences and we don't generally let anyone sit here all by themselves, it's for larger groups and…"

The man had already seated himself and was holding a slender hand out to Naruto as if he expected the blond to place something in his awaiting palm. Naruto stared at the pale digits like they were foreign objects until the man said, not even the barest trace of emotion in his voice: "Menu,"

Naruto blinked. Disbelief was fast becoming a quick-button emotion with this guy.

"Sir," He persisted, holding back the vinal covered tri-fold while he made another attempt to dislodge this difficult client from his chosen seating. "This isn't a seat for the general public; we have reserved this table for special customers…" His voice trailed off.

The man hadn't moved or made any indication that he'd heard the blond at all. His hand had stayed where it was: elbow firmly planted in the tabletop, palm open and waiting.

Naruto could feel his temper rising, it was nearly palpable. This guy just couldn't take a hint! And here Naruto was trying to be polite and patiently explain why this was not a place where he was allowed to be. But from the lack of reaction to him, the blond guessed that this customer in particular was used to getting exactly what he wanted. It was at that moment that Naruto decided that this man was a complete and utter Teme.

He fought his temper down however, before he did anything that he might later regret. The criminal charges just weren't worth the temporary satisfaction of ripping this guy's beautiful face off.

So instead, he jammed the menu into the man's patiently waiting fingers and started to stalk away, not even bothering to offer the man a glass of water or explain that he himself was the unlucky son who had the misfortune of serving the jerk today.

"Green tea,"

Naruto froze and cautiously peered over his shoulder. Sure enough, a pair of soulless black eyes was staring in his direction, gazing fixedly at into his.

"W-what?"

"One. Pot. Of. Hot. And. Very. Bitter. Green. Tea." The man instructed calmly and slowly as if Naruto were a three year old before turning his attention back to the menu spread before him.

Naruto grit his teeth and stomped unprofessionally back into the kitchen, not caring that the other guests in the restaurant had stopped their conversation and were watching him as he punched unceremoniously through the thick oak doors and into the back. He brushed past Kiba, not even offering to hold the door for his friend as was their custom.

"Dude…" The dog lover whined, the gargantuan serving tray he was carrying fully laden. "Give a guy a hand."

"Sorry," Naruto apologized, backtracking to push open one of the heavy double-doors and let Kiba through.

"Are you feeling okay?" The brunette paused long enough to ask, well grunt, his attention more on not spilling his tray than his blond counterpart, but he was no less concerned.

Naruto was one of the best people on earth in Kiba's estimation. He was a good guy, always eager to lend a hand, hard-working, kind, patient to a point and the blond was certainly working on furthering that point, courteous. The guy would bend over backwards to please anyone and everyone he met. The blond was always the first to see the good in people and continued to believe in that good until he was proven wrong. The fact that Naruto was pissed off not even two minutes after he'd stumbled out to greet the customer was not a good omen of things to come.

"Tough customer?"

The bond glanced over to the back table and the annoyingly handsome figure seated there. _No,_ Naruto blinked. _He had not just called that jerk handsome again! The dude was handsome, but that was not why he was annoying. He was handsome because he was annoying…wait…_

"Hey," Kiba repositioned his arms under the weight of the tray, glancing in the direction his friend was staring. He gaped. "Is that guy…"

"Yup,"

"And you told him…"

"Yup,"

And you were nice about it?

"Yup,"

"And he's still sitting there?"

The look Naruto gave Kiba was incredulous. "No, Kiba, he'd thought he'd order from that table and eat somewhere else."

"Hey, no need to get all tight in the shorts," Kiba growled defensively. "You know it's rude to get all sarcastic with your friends."

Naruto rolled his eyes and let out a harsh breath. "Whatever, so are you going to take this guy off my hands?"

"Sorry," Kiba grinned, moving towards the nearby tables. "I've got my hands full with the birch and maple tables. You're on your own bud."

Naruto's jaw dropped and he shouted after the retreating form of his friends back. "Come on, I'll take all of your tables, just help me out here!"

Every head in the cafe turned to look at him.

Realization seeped into Naruto's brain and a corresponding flush spread over his face. He turned his head over to the back corner, praying that this guy had been far enough away…

Dark ebony collided with sky blue and Naruto felt his skin starting to melt as the heat in his face began to burn hotter.

"Green tea," He mumbled, heading back into the kitchen, his face aflame. "One pot of hot green tea…"

_Author note:__ so chapter 3 is finished. I actually had some trouble finding a good place to stop this one. But, I digress. Thanks to everyone who responded to my call for reviews; they truly are the fuel for my creative fires. And reviews don't necessarily have to be all full of butterflies and rainbows. Tell me honestly how I can improve this story._

_I cannot wait until the next Shippuden box set comes out. I love the Asuma story arch so much. You really get to delve into Shikamaru who is one of my favorite characters of the series. _


	4. Chapter4: Free advice is seldom cheap

Chapter 4: Free advice is seldom cheap

**Disclaimer:**** I am not a genius like the man who thought up Naruto, how could you even lump my pithy story in with his? I'm not trying to mooch off some of that fat load he's raking in, so just enjoy the fruits of my labor and keep your lawsuits to yourself!**

**Now then...**

**Chapter 4: Free advice is seldom cheap**

Sasuke could feel his patience wearing thin. His server had to be the single most idiotic individual he had ever had the displeasure of meeting.

The raven sipped his tea, enjoying the pleasant bitter tang as the hot liquid slid down his throat and forced his mild chagrin aside. He had come here to think and an Uchiha would never let something as insignificant as an idiotic waiter to distract him from what needed to be done.

The images from that morning began to flash through Sasuke's mind, each more brutal then the last. Blood and intestines smeared into paste had mixed, staining the street a horrifying pink. The remnants of a hand had lain, disjoined and alone; far from its original owner; yet in its pale and lifeless fingers it clutched the handle of a knife tainted crimson.

At least the Akatsuki had not gone away without injury. Hebi's stoic leader thought.

But injuring them was not enough. Sasuke had to come up with a plan that would drive the infernal gang away from Konoha, or destroy them entirely.

And what of this Kyuubi? If the message Karin had carried to him meant what he thought, and Uchiha's were nothing if not accurate, then this person was…a…

"Superhero…"

"What?"

Sasuke blanched inwardly. Could his ill-mannered waiter possibly have picked a higher register to shriek in his ear? The idiot was almost more than Sasuke could take, worse than Suigetsu after a full day of drinking.

He shifted his gaze from the tabletop to the moron who'd broken into his silent revere. But the blond was not making fun of what he'd obviously overheard his customer say. Instead, the man had turned a bright red and was fumbling with the pad in his pocket, the pen in his hand shaking visibly. The man wasn't even trying to look Sasuke in the eye, in fact; the raven would go so far as the say that the idiot was actually avoiding eye contact.

"I me-mean," The blond stammered. "W-what are y-you going to order, you've had long enough to pick something out."

Sasuke stared at his waiter. This was…unusual. The longer he simply stared at the man, the more uncomfortable he seemed to become, the red slowly crept over his entire face and inched downward until his neck was also swathed in the self-conscious heat. Sasuke had to admit, this was…amusing. The simple question remained however, why was…

The raven's gaze flicked his server's nametag, tacked on the left breast of the blond's old black shirt. Naruto, it was a strange name, although in that Sasuke supposed that the name fit the man.

"Salmon fillet," The raven answered evenly, though he wanted to say that the blond was not to decide it was time for his customer to order. What stopped him was the thought of having to deal with this frustrating man any more than he absolutely had to. Sasuke was almost at the point of leaving and sparing 'Naruto' the obviously undesirable of serving him. But his accursed Uchiha pride would not give the blond man that satisfaction.

The blond muttered an acknowledgement and went his way, leaving Sasuke to himself once more.

Boss Hebi took a bracing sip of his tea and began to ponder…

His waiter's reaction to what he had said was puzzling, but Sasuke chose to focus on the more pressing matters of Akatsuki and this new 'superhero' who'd come to exercise the gangs from Konoha's streets. How could he take care of both while protecting Hebi and her interests?

.:xXXx:.

Naruto cursed himself for twelve kinds of idiot as he made his way back to the kitchen. When he'd heard what the black-haired Teme had said, the reaction had been automatic.

The blond pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily. He might as well have said, 'Superhero, no, me? Never, I don't dress up in black leather, my eyes don't turn red and I most certainly have never heard of a gang in Konoha called Hebi; don't be ridiculous.'

"Hey, Naruto come over here and give this a taste."

The blond gave the pudgy cook a distracted wave and the newest order sheet for him to fill. The paper was torn out of the Uzumaki's hand, soon replaced with a spoon to which something viscos clung.

"Thanks Chouji," Naruto absently stuffed the spoon into his mouth and walked on, ignoring the fat man's demands to have his spoon back.

Typically, Chouji's experiments in food were incredible, and this thick sweet sauce was certainly not the exception to that universal law. But Naruto's mind was just not on food. He half-heartedly at the wooden spoon and trudged to a back counter, filling an empty pitcher with ice water out of routine more than any real necessity.

"Wow, that guy really did a number on you."

Naruto didn't even bother to turn, but continued to stare as the pitcher slowly continued to fill. The motion of the ice cubes as they swirled around and around their plastic prison was oddly hypnotic.

"Hey," Kiba was next to him, leaning heavily on the counter while peering at his blond friend. "What's the deal, you don't let customers get to you like this, what's your problem?"

"I just reacted badly." Naruto sighed, swiveling the taps off. "That guy just said something I didn't expect and I said something that I shouldn't have."

"What, like you cursed him out or something?"

Naruto didn't answer. He picked up the pitcher and started for the doors.

Kiba put a hand on the blond's shoulder. "Don't worry about it, dude, it happens to everyone; water under the bridge you know? Just show him you're a good guy and be his friend. It'll be fine."

"Hey, Kiba, order up!" Chouji shouted from behind them and Naruto's friend was gone.

_Be a friend_, the blond thought. _Be his friend._

.:xXXx:.

When the blond interrupted Sasuke fifteen minutes later, he came bearing a large plate filled with steaming fish fillet. And Sasuke was no closer to a solution than he had been twenty minutes ago which royally ticked the brunette off.

"What?" His typically impassive features screwed slightly into a frown. His slim dark eyebrows furrowing almost imperceptibly as the corners of his mouth turned down.

"Sorry to disturb you again, sir." 'Naruto's' laugh was nervous. The blond set the plate carefully down in front of his customer and to Sasuke's surprise, pulled out a chair and sat.

"Well?" His waiter questioned, his wide blue eyes moving from Sasuke to the food on the table and back again. "Aren't you going to try it? You ordered it after all."

Sasuke glanced at his plate. It was a cooked salmon, with fresh greens and a steaming baked potato on the side. It looked edible at least. The raven's eyes snapped back to the idiot sitting next to him, a stupid grin spread across his moronic features.

He didn't move, but fixed the blond with a glare that normally had Karin hastily retreating.

The Dobe didn't move.

One second passed…two…three… The silence began to stretch and grew uncomfortable, well, not for Sasuke, who'd turned his attention back to Akatsuki and Kyuubi. At least, that's what he tried to do, until his waiter's grating voice clawed into his thoughts.

"Oh, I get it. Yeah, it's hard for me to eat when I've got a load on my mind. But hey, maybe I can help you out so then you can enjoy this awesome lunch!"

Before he could even control it, the raven had let out a "Che…" It must have encouraged the blond because less than a second later Sasuke found himself staring once more into a pair of wide blue eyes. Except, he hadn't moved. His server was currently leaning with his elbows on the table, his head cocked to one side while he tilted forward.

"So, here, let me give you some advice." The blond whispered conspiratorially. "Whenever I have a lot of problems all at once, I just…" He paused as if waiting for Sasuke to ask him to continue. Instead, the raven took a deep breath, and turned his face away from Naruto's. Was this Dobe his divine punishment? What crime had he committed as Boss Hebi that warranted this judgment?

"Hey, I'm talking to you," The blond was certainly persistent. He'd leaned even closer, trying to get Sasuke to look him in the eyes. Sasuke, for his part, was ignoring the troublesome little troll with all the grace and poise he could muster. The blond had absolutely no idea how close he was to calling in Suigetsu and letting the gunman 'have his way' with the moronic miscreant.

"I just sort of misdirect all the different individual ones and let them take care of themselves."

_What?_

"Like this one time," The blond's grin turned sheepish. "Granny Tsunade was really pissed at me about something, I don't really remember what. And this other guy, I think that his name was Sora, anyway, he was a customer and a real jerk, kindda like y-" The blond clapped a hand over his mouth and tried to laugh off his Freudian slip.

"So, I was getting really frustrated 'cause no matter how nice I was to this guy, he was always rude back, and I was totally going to whip his butt or something. So when Old Lady Tsunade called me into her office to ask why I wasn't doing all the crap she wanted me to do, I got this wild idea."

_Satan must've been shivering pretty hard then._ The raven reflected as the blond rambled on.

"So I just told the old hag that I couldn't do all this other stuff because I was so busy trying to please this impossible customer. Well, she wanted to meet this 'impossible customer' and so I introduced her to Sora." The blond's smile had widened into something almost evil. "Of course that jerk was rude and so…"

Sasuke watched as his waiter lounged back into his borrowed seat. "I just let one problem take care of the other."

The raven felt something click in his mind, an idea that he had not considered; that hadn't even entered his mind until that moment. That was it. The perfect plan had already begun to formulate in his mind. The idea was to simple, but the basis, the foundation was brilliant.

Sasuke felt his eyes narrowing and he gazed at the blond waiter with a newfound awareness. Perhaps this man was not as…mentally deficient as Sasuke had first surmised.

"Anyway," The man was standing awkwardly to his feet, his hand back to rubbing the back of his neck. "I hope that helped. Now you can eat your meal without all that thinking distracting you and what not. Now hurry up and eat that before it gets cold."

And then he was gone.

Sasuke watched his waiter moved away, tracking the blond as he walked from table to table, filling water glasses, grinning from ear to ear. _Dumb blond, it was like he hadn't even had an argument with another of his client's. The moron was good at what he did. _Sasuke had to admit. _He could make anyone feel at ease with his innane chatter._ And with that thought, Sasuke went about finishing his tempting meal before it grew too cold.

.:xXXx:.

The raven ate his meal in unexpected quiet and completely undisturbed. He had to admit, the salmon had been well cooked, seasoned acceptably and served with marginally pleasing aesthetics.

The Uchiha knew five star restaurants who deserved less praise.

Despite his original impression of this place, mainly due to his treatment by the staff; 'Leaf' was a well put together establishment. His lunch had been more productive than he had originally hoped; also astonishingly thanks to the same loud, blond staff member.

He finished what remained of his now lukewarm tea with a single swallow and rose.

"Hey your all done!"

The Uchiha's head snapped up. He hadn't even heard the blonds' approach his table.

"Does that mean you liked it?" The man asked eagerly, his eyes wide with anticipation.

"Hn, Dobe," Sasuke walked past his over enthusiastic waiter and towards the front; the blond hot in pursuit.

"Hey, you can't call someone a name like that and just walk away!"

The raven paused at the door, not bothering to look when he asked "How much do I own for the meal?"

His server stopped as well, at least his incessant protesting ceased. He seemed to running some figures in his head, or maybe he'd been stunned into silence by the raven's longest sentence to him in the whole two hour period the raven had been at the cafe. There must've been some quantum physics involved in Sasuke's bill because after waiting several minutes of an answer, Sasuke sighed, his right hand digging in his back pocket for his wallet.

"Here Dobe," The gang leader pulled out a wad of bills and plucked them into the blonds' hand before heading out the door.

It took about five seconds for his waiter to dash out in pursuit.

"Wait!" The blond rushed in front of him, his arms stretched to stop Sasuke's forward progress.

"You only owe $12.49 for the meal."

"That was some fast math, usurotankachi." Sasuke commented his voice riddled with sarcasm.

The blond either missed the Uchiha's insult or he ignored the statement entirely. For instead of reacting to the abuse, the man held out his fist. Sasuke could see the paper rectangles he'd handed the blond peeking out through the gaps between the man's fingers.

"You owe the café $12.49, not three hundred. What about your change?"

Sasuke shrugged dismissively, stepping around the eager beaver and onto the street. "You can keep the change."

The blond's eyes went wide. "Wha-"

"It's my thanks, Dobe, to you for your advice." And with that final comment flung casually over his shoulder, the raven was gone; leaving his dumbfounded waiter to stare after him in confusion.

Sasuke reached into his jeans once more, not for his wallet this time, but in search of a certain cellular device he'd been ignoring for the last two hours of his life. He quickly palmed the phone, punching two buttons and holding its sleek black shell to his ear.

It rang twice before the other end clicked and the pounding thrum of a fierce techno beat hammered in the raven's ear.

"Speak Uchiha!" Suigetsu had meant to sound surly and annoyed, that was always the way he answered any of his Boss's phone calls. It wouldn't do for the young gunman to sound too eager. But it was hard to pitch your voice just right while yelling over the controlled chaos which was only found in such establishments.

The Uchiha in question was not disturbed by his lieutenants malevolent response to his phone call. It answered two questions that the brunette had all at once.

The first: Suigetsu was in fact still at 'Sound'.

The second: The gunman was not put off completely when Sasuke had excluded both he and Juugo from Karin's debriefing. Of course that didn't mean that the man was not pissed off. He'd been casually set aside for a time and that hurt any man's pride. But Suigetsu liked to think that he was a vital part of Hebi; that if he were to not participate in the intricate goings on (at least as far as all the gossip and head smashing went) of the organization, the gang would fall apart. He liked to be in the loop, to know every move that was made. The man didn't like surprises, no matter how little interest he pretended not to show at Sasuke's staff meetings. And Sasuke indulged the blond for as long as it was prudent to do so. The Hebi leader wouldn't compromise the gang's security for the sake of one man's pride. But reason also said that keeping a man as skilled as Suigetsu close and happy, would be useful in the long run, and Sasuke knew how to keep someone like Suigetsu fell necessary.

Suigetsu would get over his pitch-fit soon enough. The Hebi leader was going to reveal his plan to his three lieutenants once he got back to 'Sound'.

"Tell the other two I will be in my office in forty-five minutes." The raven said mildly, ending the conversation with a deft jab of his thumb. He didn't need to tell Suigetsu to be there, he knew that the blond would be, along with the other two. The three of his inner circle knew that Sasuke, once in motion, did not care to be kept waiting.

And his genius had certainly been set in motion.

/ …just let one problem take care of the other…/ The waiter had said. Make the two problems take each other out for you./

A rare smirk toyed with the corner of the raven's mouth. He allowed it to flutter there for a half a second before he flicked it aside like some pesky insect.

The blond man had been very helpful actually. He'd deserved the three hundred as a tip. In hindsight the man might's been entitled to more since the fortune Sasuke would likely save in damage control and redistribution of goods alone would've cost the raven a thousand times that poultry amount. And it wasn't as if Sasuke dealt in small quantities. Three hundred was pocket change.

His Porsche was in sight. Sasuke stepped up to the opposite sidewalk and grabbed his keys. His car beeped twice, the lights on both ends flashing in sync with the noise, a signal that the vehicle was now unlocked.

The Uchiha moved around to the driver's side and was about to step once more into the muddy street when a flash of white on the windshield caught his eye. Turning, Sasuke saw a small sheet of paper had been tucked under his left wiper blade.

It was a parking ticket.

Sasuke tore the paper off his windshield, eyeing the signature with growing disdain. The ticket had been filled out by a one officer Hatake Kakashi; a one busybody officer Hatake Kakashi.

The raven's eyes narrowed in annoyance. He'd thought that he'd cleared up this little…issue with the police commissioner already.

He folded the paper, slipping it into his pocket and gliding smoothly into the driver's seat. The car purred to life and the Hebi leader slid into traffic a few seconds later, already making a mental note to visit Police commissioner Danzo. He'd have to remind the man to curb his overly zealous cops.

Sasuke glanced into his rearview mirror, the now familiar image of 'Leaf's' green signboard caught squarely in the rapidly shrinking background.

He could feel the smirk returning. Maybe he would come back to that place. Their tea was good.

.:xXXx:.

"Oi, Naruto," Kiba grinned as his friend wandered into the kitchen, a dazed expression on his scared face. "What's with that faraway look?" The brunette's eyes fell to the cash in the blond's hand. He gaped.

"Where did all that cash come from?"

"It was a…tip…"

Kiba nearly sprinted to Naruto, grabbing the money from his friend's hand and quickly riffling through the bills.

"You've got to be kidding, there's almost three hundred dollars here, what did you do, make a drug run or something?"

That loud statement shook the blond out of his dazed stupor. "Hey, don't be a jerk. Of course I wasn't selling drugs and crap. That Teme I told you about earlier gave me a big tip because I gave him some advice and it was really helpful." Naruto swiped the money back and stalked to the break room. His canine loving counterpart called after him. "I wouldn't mind you giving me some of that friggin' awesome advice, Naruto!" The blond rolled his eyes and slammed the break room door behind him.

The break room was a small space sandwiched between the kitchen and Tsunade's office. It wasn't much, a small, metal table was set in the middle of the room, three chairs stood near it in haphazard formation. A tall red floor to ceiling shelf covered the right-hand wall; its two foot by three foot cubbies stuffed with employee belongings. Next to the door which was directly opposite where Naruto now stood, the break room's handle still clasped firmly in his hand. It was an employee entrance, but no one used it unless they were late, but the old thing was so rusted over, it was almost faster to go around to the front. Next to the oxidized monstrosity was the swipe in/out box, for ease of access Naruto could only assume. It had been installed when the building was erected nearly thirty years ago. The stupid old thing didn't even work half the time. And the times that it did actually log someone in, it would be the wrong employee.

The stupid temperamental hunk of machinery had a freaking mind of its own. Its mood swings had become so infamous amongst those who worked at the 'Leaf' that the staff had begun to call the device 'Tsunade-sama' after their illustrious employer and never when the real Tsunade was within earshot.

Naruto strolled over to the shelves and reached up into his own carefully marked cubby. Feeling around, the blond managed to identify his backpack before haphazardly stuffing the money inside. He'd take care of the three hundred properly once he got home that night; before he…went out for the night. And he would, he had to if he was going to make good on his threat. In one month, the gang Hebi would be no more, he would make sure of that. It was his way.

"Oi, idiot," Kiba poked his head into the room. "We're getting swamped out here. Stop being such a leech and help us seat some people. You can run your fingers through all your money later."

"Whatever," The blond grinned. "You just want to see my people pleasing, big tip getting skills in action."

The brunette responded with a 'whatever' of his own before closing the door with a slight 'click'.

Naruto headed back towards the kitchen, his fingers closing around the knob before he paused and looked back to his cubby. His sky blues traced the orange and black outline of his string backpack. From across the room, no one could tell that three hundred dollars was stored inside. And even up close, the only hint you'd probably get would be some green showing through the small opening at the bags top even when drawn tight. But unless someone was specifically looking for the money, they wouldn't rifle through the bag. And besides, the only one who knew about the cash was Kiba and as jealous as the guy was, Naruto knew he wouldn't even consider thievery.

The money was safe; and Naruto wasn't one to be flippant with cash, especially not in the case of nearly three hundred dollars. That was more for one meal than the blond typically made in tips for a month maybe more. It was his rent for the month; he wasn't going to fool around with it.

His mind went to the jerk who'd given him the money. The man had been freakishly good looking. His ebony hair and pale, unblemished skin…his lean torso exhibited to its best advantage encased in the charcoal grey button-down he'd worn. His legs had been long too, but not skinny. The muscle which filled the man's dark jeans had been lean, not bulky like those obnoxiously stereotypical bodybuilders one saw every day on the covers of magazines. The raven had been like that all over; not hulking with muscle, which would've ruined the effect of his slender perfect features, but he carried a dangerous aura. Naruto felt rather than knew that whomever he had served lunch was not someone to be toyed with.

_What had his name been?_ Of course Naruto didn't know, the man had never given his waiter that tidbit of information and had also paid in cash. So the blond couldn't even check a credit card number or signature or anything. Not that Naruto really cared what the jerk's name was. He just wanted to know who could afford to give anyone a three hundred dollar tip.

_Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if the Teme came back…_ The blond blinked at his errant thought. Well, if the man came back that was his own business. If Naruto wanted him to came back it was, of course, just so I could get some more of that fat action.

Naruto eased the door open and slipped into the kitchen and away from his thought to impatient cries for cooks to hurry and the bark of Kiba ordering more water pitchers to be filled.

He grinned and plunged head-first into the tumult of the late-lunch crowd.

Author's Note: Yes, yes, I mentioned Sora, even though he's not technically a true part of the Naruto storyline. But I thought it appropriate to my story. Naruto and Sora went at it like the Dobe and Sasuke do, so it worked.

Thank you to the five people who reviewed. I wish that more would. If you guys are wondering why I am not mentioning you by name, it's just because my account is acting strangely and I can't view my reviews, so I can't get your usernames to thank you properly either. I appologize and try to get that working as soon as possible.

I just finished going through the Shikamaru/Asuma storyarch and it was amazing like I remembered!

Anyway, thanks for reading this at least. R&R


	5. Chapter5:You and I collide

Chapter 5: Collide

**Disclaimer: I buy Naruto, do you think that I would do that if I could just have that amazingness for free?**

Thanks to Nan203, Damp and LoverFromAnotherWorld. I finally got my stupid E-mail to work. If I missed someone who did review, I don't want to be rude, so if you PM me, I will pay homage to your R&R efforts.

**Chapter 5: Collide**

"I am getting really frickin' tired of waiting for this guy to show up!" The full moon's lavish light gleamed off the gunman's pale tresses as he leaned casually against the hood of his baby. Impatiently, Suigetsu punched the polished metal. The blood red sports car was brand new, with not even a speck of paint scratched off its polished surface. Sasuke had permitted his overzealous lieutenant to purchase the vehicle under the express understanding that the Hebi leader did not want to ever find Suigetsu being serviced inside of it while in front of 'Sound' which had unfortunately happened the last time the blond man had bought a car. Sasuke was still trying to banish that rather unfortunate image from his mind.

The raven didn't respond to his lieutenant's angry outburst. Suigetsu was just blowing off some steam, which was warranted. The three of them, Suigetsu, Juugo and himself, had been waiting for just over two hours for Kyuubi to arrive. Karin had been left at 'Sound' as per Sasuke's orders. He wanted it to seem as though Karin were truly afraid and wanted nothing better than to never set foot on the streets again. The subconscious stroking of the 'superhero's' ego might make him careless. But it was becoming increasingly difficult for the raven to keep his lieutenants in check as the hours continued to drag on in uninterrupted tedium.

They were set up in what was probably the strangest back alley in Konoha. It was an intersection of four separate alleyways, all merging in the center to create a chamber behind the buildings. It was a place Sasuke had conducted deliveries before, the location was open without being to noticeable to prying eyes. It offered plenty of natural cover from which Sasuke could watch the 'delivery'.

The raven wasn't worried about being seen, his position was perfect, his cover impeccable. No one would find him unless he wanted them to and he had no such inclinations.

Sasuke had arrived at his club just when he'd intended and had received his lieutenants in his office a few minutes later. He had carefully explained his intentions, laying out a trap and a plan to be carried out that night whose preparations were to be completed before that evening.

This drop off was fake. A large truck filled with several dozen large crates which were filled with nothing but imported sand. There was no reason to endanger the real shipment in Sasuke's mind. He would deal with the vigilante and tomorrow night make the real rendezvous. But Kyuubi wouldn't know that.

The basic set up was the same as Karin's drop off, which was just what Sasuke wanted. The Hebi leader wanted this to be as tempting a target as possible for Kyuubi.

"Don't be so impatient." Juugo's voice mumbled through the microphone fit to Sasuke's left ear as the man with orange hair attempted the ease the edgy gunman's nerves.

Sasuke watched as the two men relaxed against the hood of the car. They became less tense, at least, Suigetsu did; Juugo looked as though he could spend the rest of the night lounging against the hood of that sport car and come away as fresh as a daisy.

Sasuke melted deeper into the shadows, pressing himself so far into the darkness he doubted that someone could pass within an inch of him and notice he was there.

His current position offered a plain view of his two lieutenants as they 'supervised the operation' from Suigetsu's Ferrari. Suigetsu, was doing a fair approximation at yelling out instructions and insults intermittently whilst Juugo continued to sit, wait and look intimidating.

The stage was set, the character in place…except one.

_Where is Kyuubi?_

The whisper of a shoe sole brushing against concrete was carried to Sasuke where he crouched. Another came and then the raven heard nothing.

Sasuke turned his head, his movements so slow and even, they were undetectable in the deep shadows which encased him. A single figure stood in the alley…the one that they were waiting for?

The Hebi leader narrowed his eyes, trying to peer through the concealing shadows which hid him and also effectively veiled this man's identity. Irritatingly, Sasuke had to watch as the man pulled up an extra piece of cloth off the collar of his black shirt and eased it over the lower half of his face. It was like every bad episode of Captain Kakashi that Sasuke had ever watched had come back to haunt him. If the raven remembered correctly, the comic book superhero had worn his mask that way since the first issue in order to hide his secret identity from the world.

So that meant that this man, whoever it was, had read Captain Kakashi. It was a clue, although most of the population of Konoha had read those comic's when Sasuke was young. But it was something. The raven carefully tucked that piece of information away and continued to watch.

Kyuubi had come up to the end of the alley, not five feet from where Sasuke crouched. The light was better here and offered a more complete picture of the man Sasuke had come to meet.

He was as tall as Karin had said, lean and muscular. The ripple of lean power in Kyuubi's lower half was showcased beautifully by the tight leather pants the man wore. His feet were encased in black boots, also leather. Sasuke was close enough to see the tred on the soles was new.

_Interesting…_

Kyuubi's torso was covered in a black under-armor type material which had been modified in the collar to accommodate the coverage of the man's nose and mouth. Over the shirt was a worn black leather jacket, no decals or tags of any kind evident on the old hide. This man was smart enough not to give the gangs he terrorized any clues as to his true identity. At least, no direct clues. He'd already given Sasuke several.

The man's hair poked up in all directions: spikes that refused to be tamed or repressed. Kyuubi's hair was blond…? Red…? Sasuke blinked and watched in odd fascination as the man's unruly spikes shifted from bright yellow to an iridescent red. The color shifted once more before it settled into a stable tint, it wasn't red, but it was no longer blond and certainly not orange. It was a color the raven could no longer identify which irritated Hebi's leader.

Something gleamed in the moonlight, a dark bloody tint of something that peeked from the side of Kyuubi's face.

Sasuke, his movements still imperceptibly slow, leaned forward to get a better look at the man's face. When he did however, he felt his stomach clench, not in fear, but with an odd interest. The crimson glow was coming from the man's eyes, if it truly was a man, for Sasuke was no longer certain. The eyes were exactly as Karin had described: a bright bloody red whose hue defied any more definite a description. The pupils were nearly nonexistent, slit and terrible. The man's eyes were not that of a human being, they belonged to a great hunting beast, one who stalked and killed and took pleasure in both.

The man seemed to tense, his muscles ready to spring upon the unsuspecting score of men who lay just beyond the mouth of the alley where he crouched.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. It was time.

**.:xXXx:.**

He'd been watching, waiting. For what seemed like ages, but what must've been only moments, he had hidden himself in the shadows and patiently observed his prey.

Naruto wasn't a fool. He wasn't going to simply rush into this place blind. He'd sit and wait for the opportune moment, just like he had the night before. Ant that plan had gone smashingly if he did say so himself…

_Heh, smashingly. _

It was just like every other one of the countless drug runs he had seen. Eighteen men walked about the back alley, twenty if he counted the two men who were currently reclined against the hood of a pristine looking red Ferrari. They were here to supervise more than likely. The blond studied the pair intently. The first to gain his attention was a thick man, not fat by any means, but heavily built. The powerful of play muscle was obvious even under the man's heavy jacket. He carried no weapons that Naruto could make out, which meant that the man either could conceal a gun or knife better than the blonds' incredible vision could detect, or he preferred to fight with his hands. Naruto opted to believe the latter. The man's companion was easier to read. He was tall, whippet thin, sported a head of limp, bleached hair and a wicked looking fully automatic machine gun. The blond had seen people like him before: a young punk with an itchy trigger finger, ever ready to prove himself to anyone and everyone. Naruto idly wondered what kind of a person could control such a person enough to trust him to supervise a drug drop-off.

The hired labor seemed about done with unloading the crates. It was about time for him to make his appearance.

Naruto stood nearly upright, his legs slightly bent in preparation for his initial leap. He would have to take that car out first. He'd have to extinguish the headlights at least; that went for both vehicles. He'd get the gunman after that; take his machinegun out of the picture before getting rid of the bigger man. The little underlings wouldn't be much of a problem after their supervision disappeared.

The blond felt his muscles coil, his stomach flipped in anticipation as adrenaline began to flood his system. He allowed his unnatural senses to expand, to overcome him the way he always did before a fight. It was what kept him alive night after night. He took a deep breath…

…and smelled something that should not have been there!

Naruto moved to turn, to swat aside what he knew was coming, but he was far too late.

He felt the prick of the needle the instant before his legs gave out. Naruto hit the unyielding concrete with a wet 'thud', the impact jarring his teeth. He tried to roll over, to crawl away from whoever had him, but his limbs refused to respond to his commands. He was helpless, lying face down in the muddy alley, at the mercy of…he didn't even know who.

"So, you are Kyuubi." The voice was masculine, but seemed to be coming from a long ways off. It echoed oddly and Naruto had to concentrate to make out every word. His arms and legs were tingling, like he'd sat on them too long and the blood was just beginning to re-circulate. His mind was floating, in a haze, a fog that he couldn't seem to find his way out of.

"I know that you can hear me," The voice held no trace of impatience, speaking as casually as one would discuss the weather or the best way to get to a restaurant. Naruto could feel himself being turned over, but not with hands, and just barely, as if it were all just a dream of a sensation.

"Suigetsu, Juugo, that's enough, you can leave now."

"Wha-t do you…want?" The blond man panted.

"To talk," Came the simple reply. But Naruto wasn't buying it.

"Talk…" The blond mumbled weakly. "What could you, a black-hearted, self-serving bastard like you have to say that would interest me?"

He felt the man's fingertips brush along the edges of his mask and the blond fought down panic. The voice held a hard edge this time. "I don't care about your vaunted goals superhero. I care about the bottom line."

Naruto wanted to open his mouth and curse at the man, to stand and rip this cold hearted strategist into small pieces so he could no longer damage the blonds' beloved city with his cold calculation. But he could do nothing, only lay there on the cold pavement and wallow in his mounting fury.

He heard the voice sigh, or at least, the blond thought that he did. The noise had been so soft, like the rustle of leaves on an autumn wind. When the voice did at last speak, it carried none of the harshness from before.

"I have a question for you, it is simple and requires a simple response."

"What?"

"I am from an organization known simply as Hebi. We dabble in many things: drugs, prostitution, extortion…"

Naruto's laugh lacked any real humor. "If…you are t-trying to generate…sympathy for your pithy little organization, you're doing a…r-really great job."

The voice seemed to ignore his comment and went on. "There is another group, worse than Hebi. What if I said that they killed for the simple pleasure of causing terror? What if I told you that they kidnapped children from their front yards to supply their trade in slave labor and black market organ donation?"

"I'd say that you needed to get to the point before this drug you've pumped into me wears off and I pull your legs off like an insect." It frightened Naruto just how much he meant it too.

Sasuke continued, unfazed by the man's threat. "I would help you take care of this organization, rid Konoha of their taint. What do you say now, Kyuubi?"

Naruto's mind spun. Out of all the possible conclusions his drug muddled mind had conjured, none had even come close.

"What's…the catch?" He heard himself say. "You expect me to believe that you're going to team up with someone who's sworn to destroy you just out of the blue?"

The man made no comment, but Naruto was far from finished.

"And, for the sake of argument, I do agree. When it's all over you and your gang are going to what; just walk away? I won't stop trying to destroy every single one of you."

He was recovering. The tingle had lessened slightly in his limbs and it took less effort for Naruto to form the words he wanted.

"I hold no such illusions." The voice was becoming more distinct, further proof of the blonds' recovery. It was still bleary, but distinctly less so. "I hope that you will see the wisdom of quitting this two front war you have blindly thrust yourself into. Once the larger threat is eradicated, I have no doubt that you and I will collide once more."

The fuzzy image of a head floated before Naruto's eyes. He couldn't make out anything, another frustrating effect of the drug floating around in his bloodstream.

"Think on this Kyuubi…" The sensation of a hand on his mask returned. The blond involuntarily jerked when his cowl was pulled, sliding down his cheeks a quarter inch before the hand stopped.

"In this state, I have complete power over you." The cold fingers which had settled on his cheekbones and mask were enough to illustrate the point. "I am offering you the opportunity to accomplish a goal of yours. I all that I ask is that until you have dealt with this social enemy, you let Hebi alone."

His vision was becoming clearer. Naruto could make out shoulders and it looked like the speaker's head actually rested on a neck instead of sprouting directly from the dark lump of his torso.

Naruto's lips pulled back to reveal his elongated eyeteeth, though he knew that they could not be seen, hidden behind the mask. This man was using him, but he had few options at this point. With one tug, his identity would be exposed. The drug was wearing off, but his control was nowhere near what it could be, or what it ought to be if he had a hope of stopping this man if he decided to stop toying with the blond. With one motion everything could be undone.

The growl that emerged from the back of his throat was dangerous, but did not seem to frighten his captor who continued to stroke the supple material of Naruto's mask with sure fingers.

"Think about it."

Naruto's mask was yanked unceremoniously back into place and the vague image which had hung before his unfocused eyes disappeared.

The blond heard the crunch of concrete underfoot somewhere in the distance and the voice called out, travelling farther away.

"Akatsuki won't wait long though."

**.:xXXx:.**

Naruto woke to rain pattering against the window. He stretched and rolled, turning his back to the gloomy gray image outside the dirty square of glass. The foggy images of last night still clung to his mind's eye. The blond rubbed his eyes and stretched again, trying to shake the last hazy images of the encounter from his brain.

It had been bad enough that he had to carry the memory of his total incompetence, but the memories had continued to plague him even as he slept.

He had been caught 'dead to rights' as the saying went and to his great surprise and continued befuddlement, systematically released.

Resigned to his state of awake, the blond got up. It figured, on the one day he didn't have to work was the one morning that he couldn't sleep. The clock beside him glowed a bright 7:43 back at him. Naruto had another three hours before he had to even think about getting up at all.

The blond rose, pushing a hand through his unruly hair. He kicked aside a pile of clothing on his way to the dresser and opened the ancient fiberboard furnishing.

It was empty.

Naruto sighed heavily and pinned a surly gaze on the piles of stagnant clothes littering his bedroom floor. They seemed to look back and laugh. That settled it, today was laundry day.

Gathering the widely scattered garments and tossing the offending clothing into three large black garbage bags had taken less time than the blond had assumed. Twenty minutes later, dressed in one of his fresher smelling T-shirts and a pair of old orange sweatpants, the Uzumaki was out the door.

The nearest Laundromat was four blocks away so by the time Naruto had hauled the two huge black garbage bags through three intersection crosswalks in the pouring rain whilst being jostled every step of the way by the hundred or so people who were too busy texting to say 'excuse me', he remembered why it was laundry day happened so infrequently.

Naruto eased into the Laundromat's dry interior, holding the door open with one of the overstuffed bags and somehow squeezing the other two through the impossibly undersized opening. Thankfully, the establishment was nearly empty, affording Naruto an entire row of washing machines.

Dumping his clothing into the available contraptions, loading soap and feeding in the appropriate amount of quarters was a task as sadly familiar to the blond as coming home to an empty apartment. He sat on a nearby bench and watched his clothing begin to swirl.

His mind travelled back to last night in the alley. He was laying immobile and at the mercy of that man.

He had been completely under. At that moment, Naruto wouldn't have been able to lift a finger in protects if the man who had drugged him had decided to pull off the mask.

But the man had not; using the tease to demonstrate just how completely in his power Naruto truly was.

A washing machine across the room began to rattle and vibrate. A stream a growling curses erupted a few moments later, either the customer or the proprietor who realized he would have to pay for damages and a new appliance. Neither option really concerned the blond, who continued to watch his clothing churn.

It was safe to assume that this Boss Hebi had had little interest in the blonds' secret identity, at least for the moment. The man had simply offered Naruto his ultimatum and walked away, leaving the superhero with a name.

"Akatsuki…"

Naruto had not heard of the gang before. But that meant little, he had only recently come back to Konoha from his travels abroad with Jaraiyah. His plan hadn't been very thoroughly thought through; he'd just crashed the first gang deal he saw go down. It wasn't like he'd done massive amounts of research or anything like that. For all he knew, the Hebi leader had made up Akatsuki just to get Naruto off his case. But if this organization was real; if half of what the voice had claimed of them was true…how could Naruto have not known?

Of course the answer was obvious. All he knew of the suffering on the streets was what he saw, what he had seen every night as a child growing up. The cruelty, the apathy, the misery, the same disgusting lechery that crawled along the back alleys that had run rampant all those years ago flourished now.

All that Naruto cared about was flushing this cesspool of stagnant waste before it could infect the small group of decent people who struggled on, wishing for the Konoha that they remembered: a city filled with charity and love and spirit.

But what if the voice had told the truth? What if Akatsuki was a bigger threat than Hebi ever could be?

Could he afford to wait and watch?

The washer in front of Naruto panged and stopped. The blond knelt and pulled open the front loader, taking up an armful of the sopping wet clothing to deposit in a nearby dryer.

Either way, he couldn't afford to rush headlong into any situations. He needed proof, solid evidence that Akatsuki was real and worth his full attention.

The cell phone in his pocket began to buzz. The blond hastily shut the dryer and pushed his change into the machine, trying to drag out his phone from its place in his back pocket.

The caller id glowed, the word: Dad displayed above the picture of a smiling man with a scar across his nose and dark brown hair tightly tied up in a very short ponytail. It was Iruka.

Naruto accepted the call and pressed the phone up to his ear in an attempt to filter out all the rumbling machinery around him.

"Hey, what's up?"

The man on the other end sounded surprised. "You're up early."

"Laundry waits for no man," The blond grumbled, half kidding.

Iruka laughed, his gentle chuckle always seemed to put Naruto at ease. It was so honest and kind, you never had to wonder if it was a polite laugh, it was just, calm.

"I was expecting to get your voicemail, but this works better. I was going to invite you over for dinner tomorrow."

"Dinner?" Naruto felt his eyebrows twitch. "What's the occasion?"

"There's someone I want you to meet." Was all the answer he got, which did very little to slake the blonds' vapid curiosity.

"I can't, I'm sorry," And Naruto really was. "The café's short-staffed so I work all day everyday for the next week."

"Oh," Iruka really did sound disappointed. He hated upsetting his Dad, and it had been a week on the inside since he'd seen the brunette, so the blond offered an alternative.

"I don't work today though. Could you maybe get this 'someone' over tonight?"

"Hmm…That might work. I'll have to ask."

"You know how to reach me." Naruto said dryly and listened to his foster father laugh again. Kneeling on the floor of the small Laundromat with his cell phone pressed tightly against his ear and the buzz of large appliances around him, life was good. And for a moment, he felt as though nothing could ruin this perfect peace.

**.:xXXx:.**

It was raining.

He like the rain.

Even though it was currently soaking through his clothing and matted his red-orange hair down. Even though it slicked his skin and coated his bones with icy fingers. Even though it struck the many metallic pieces which jutted from his visage and created an unpleasantly chilly tingle which seeped into the fleshy bits of his face.

He like the rain. It was not the rain's fault that he sat out in the midst of its wide torrent, unwilling to move from his place atop the ruinous building where he could see the city spread out before like a bloody offering.

He liked the rain. It reminded him of home.

"Pain," He did not turn to look at Konan. He already was very familiar with her face. She was always the same. Her hair, dyed a light purple, would be damp with moisture already. It would be pinned up in a bun with the single flower tipped stick she seemed to favor. She wore the black full-length coat of Akatsuki, red clouds emblazoned upon the sturdy ebony material. What she wore under it he did not know and had cared even less. She was not his partner in every sense.

"Konan,"

"You're getting wet." The simplicity of the statement struck him, well, as much as anything really struck him. He mulled absently over the woman's choice of words. She might've told him to come inside, but she held no authority over him, a fact they both knew well. She could've said that he was going to catch a cold if he stayed out in the rain, but that might've revealed an unnecessary sentimentality that neither party truly felt. It emphasized a troublesome condition that she knew he was aware of, just in case he might deem the annoyance worth leaving the rooftop.

He did not.

"Look at them." He said, ignoring his right-hand's comment, his weird purple eyes roving about the dark streets far below his perch.

"Those ants, those simpletons who scurry about, trying not to get wet in the rain; they have no idea what is to come."

"They will learn." Was Konan's answer.

For long seconds neither moved, Pain staring down at the city below; Konan staring at her partner's hunched shoulders and dangling feet; watching him as he watched them.

Pain rose, temporarily appeased by his partner's answers. He brushed past the woman with purple hair, his distant murmur directed to the rain swept sky than Konan herself. That the woman had heard his musings was happenstance, it was not required that she understand this man, or his plans, this Konan understood well.

"Yes," Pain's whisper mixed with the crisp impact of a thousand raindrops upon rock. "They will learn."

Author's note: Okay so we have the second collision of secret identities: Boss Hebi and Kyuubi. I will get to the Yaoi soon enough, don't worry; I want the progression to be as natural as possible.

I just bought the 8th Naruto Shippuden box set and I'm almost finished 'tear'. I'm not sure how I'm gonig to survive the next three to five months until the next one comes out. Oh well, thank heaven's for Hulu.

Anyway, not sure when the next chapter is going to be uploaded, midterms are starting to get hot and heavy. Although, reviews always help with my insperation...

Until next time.


	6. Chapter6: Go your own way

Chapter 6: Go your own way...

Naruto's life before Iruka had held few distinctions. He'd lived. He'd woken up in the morning, played when it was time to play, ate when it was time to eat, and he slept when the sad, overworked people who ran the orphanage said it was bedtime.

For a penniless orphan with no friends; his comfort had come in the form of a small monthly published comic book. The Adventures of Captain Kakashi had thrilled the young orphan. He'd spent every dollar he earned from the odd jobs he sometimes worked on that tiny little tri-colored booklet. The one hundred and some odd page publication had tantalized his eager imagination with tales of valor, stories of good overcoming evil, true love conquering all, honor and truth.

Of course, there had been other popular superheroes at the time. He'd enjoyed the tales of the XYZ men and had even stashed a few of 'Superior Woman's' comics under his bed. But none could compare to Captain Kakashi.

Naruto had idolized the man, respected his humility and selflessness and he had loved him for one fundamental truth. Captain Kakashi had started out just like Naruto: an orphan with no friends and no one to turn to. But instead of becoming bitter, Kakashi had risen above his meager beginnings; the man had taken on the mantle of courage and honor and paid the price for his choice. For Kakashi had lost an eye while defending his friend from the attack of a brutish thug. In the end, his friend had died when the building they had been fighting in, weakened by the ferocity of the assault, collapsed. But just before he died, Kakashi's friend had given him a gift: an eye made out of celestial ruby to replace the one that he had lost. The eye would give Kakashi the power to copy any super power that he saw once.

At the time, Naruto hadn't really thought about how unfair this was to the other superheroes who only got one or two powers, but was instead, immensely jealous of the man's incredible abilities. Although, in the end, it seemed that no one really took the cheesiness factor into consideration, because two short years after the comic was released, a Captain Kakashi movie came to theaters. Which Naruto had begged and pleaded with his tired guardian's to let him go see. The graphics had been terrible, the acting worse, the storyline weaker than wet soba…and Naruto had enjoyed every second.

The blond had inherited powers of his own a few scant years later. And Captain Kakashi, illustrious paragon of all that was good in the world, had become more than a hero to a confused orphan boy that grizzly night. He had become a soul mate.

The blond knew that the famed hero of truth, justice and the ninja way was not real. He could not come through the paper and comfort the orphan boy with calm words and reassuring embraces. But he could show Naruto how to live better than anyone else in the world with the gifts and talents that fate had bestowed upon him.

To Naruto, the hero with a super powered eye was his icon, his role model in life and eventually, for his career in crime fighting. He'd even taken a few of the Captain's costume ideas into play while he was designing his own. Well, at least his new costume was a tad more subtle than his first. Although that unfortunate choice in apparel would be a secret the blond was planning to take to his grave and all that he would ever even admit to himself was that in his younger years, he'd had a frightening fetish for the color orange.

Yes, his redesigned costume was a vast improvement; it was all black, and mostly leather. The pants and boots he'd picked up from a friend who worked with hides and sold all his own products. The jacket had been Iruka's, from a bygone age, far before the straight-edged brunette had ever met the dejected orphan boy whom he was destined to foster. Naruto had actually stolen it out of Iruka's closet just before he'd left on his long two year sabbatical to parts unknown. It was silly, but in hindsight, the blond supposed that he'd wanted something of his father to carry with him for the long-term trip. When he'd come home, the Uzumaki had been certain Iruka would demand his jacket back, but to the blonds' eternal surprise and gratitude, his father had smiled that knowing smile of his and told the man to keep it.

The only part of his costume which wasn't made out of an animal was his shirt/mask. He'd gotten the inspiration from his Captain Kakashi comics and had actually worked the material himself. He wasn't really sure about how one got a hold of the flame retardant, cold resistant, bulletproof cloth that the Captain always had to make his gear, but so was life.

Given the importance of the cartoon character in Naruto's life, it would have pleased the blond more than to meet the most important hero in the world. However, when Naruto entered his father's apartment around six o'clock in the afternoon, the last person he expected to see sitting on his father's old beat-up green couch, reading an X-rated novel was his childhood hero.

And of course Naruto did the only thing that any self-respecting fan suddenly confronted with their idol would do: he stood dumbly in the entrance between the front hall and the living room for a solid five minutes, staring at the man on the couch who took no notice of him, while trying to think of something intelligent to say.

Which was exactly how Iruka had found his son: standing straight up as if someone had shoved an iron rod down to replace his spine, the blonds' coat still in his hands, his wide crystalline eyes riveted to the guest, his mouth working furiously open and closed as if he were trying to say something, but couldn't seem to connect some key pathway between his brain and vocal cords.

The brunette had given the blond man a quick hug which brought the man somewhat back to reality and had ushered Naruto into the living room.

"Hatake Kakashi, I would like you to meet my foster son. This is Uzumaki Naruto."

A still dazed blond shook the proffered and had mumbled something incoherent in acknowledgement. But the guest smiled all the same, an honest smile filled with affection that reached to his eye.

They all had gone into the dining room then, sitting down to one of Iruka's famous (at least in Naruto's mind) home-cooked meals. The appealing aromas of ham steaks, buttered mashed potatoes, hot rolls and steaming green beans had all wafted together to form the most tantalizing odor Naruto had smelled in a long time.

They all said blessing and dug in; the warm food and the equally felicitous company making table talk an easy affair.

It was during this polite dinner conversation that Uzumaki Naruto found out that Hatake Kakashi bore more than just a passive resemblance to his favorite childhood superhero.

"You what?" The blond nearly choked on the bite of ham he'd been chewing.

"I modeled for the comic." Kakashi eased a loaded fork under the handkerchief he apparently never took off. The man chewed thoughtfully and will obvious relish before continuing.

"It was an unfortunate series of events that led up to the actual job. I never would have considered answering that stupid ad in the first place. But…well, let's just say that between being unemployed for three months, and having your best friend triple dog dare you on pain of losing your manly pride, I didn't have many options at my immediate disposal."

"So…" Naruto eyed the man, keenly interested in the man's answer. "Do you still model?"

"Good grief no!" Kakashi said forcefully, as if horrified that Naruto had even asked. "I got out of that frightening business as fast as I could, before the first issue was even published if I remember correctly. I'm a detective with the Konoha PD."

"Ah," The blond tried not to let his disappointment show. He knew the story all too well. It was too bad that Iruka had chosen to become friends with such an obvious low-life. If this guy was a cop, he was no good. It was just how things worked nowadays in Konoha.

More for the sake of keeping the flow of conversation than out of any real interest, Naruto asked. "So, what kind of case are you working on right now detective?" _How many donuts are lost between the counter and a policeman's stomach?_ He thought snidely to himself._ Or maybe he was looking into the disappearance of coins into parking meters._ Everyone in the city limits knew that the police were for show anymore, or worse: in the pocket of one or more of the gangs. It was those illegal organizations who basically ran Konoha behind the scenes, they at least had the decency to elect their own puppet officials, unlike some of the gangs in other provinces. Naruto had even heard rumors during his time away that the leader of a 'Sand' gang called Shukaku had gotten elected as the prime minister, or whatever it was that they called their head honcho over in that part of the country.

"I'm looking into a recent string of violent crime related to a gang calling themselves the Akatsuki."

Naruto paused, fork half-way to his mouth. The memory of last night flashed into his mind. The voice had mentioned that name just before disappearing into the darkness and distant haze. "The Akatsuki won't wait for long…" Naruto had wondered if they were real, if in fact they hadn't just been made up. That no longer appeared to be the case. If this guy was working on a case involving this group, it certainly gave Boss Hebi's claim more of a foundation. With a start, Naruto realized he'd been staring at the man again. He gulped and forced a nonchalant smile. Trying to hide his embarrassment, the blond asked. "Oh, really, how's that going?"

"Not well," Kakashi confessed, stirring the remnants of his meal around the flat porcelain dish. "The gang is new to Konoha, but very well established in other parts and used to running illegal operations. Apparently, they have built a reputation as a very powerful group merely on torture and death. If they even suspect anyone of being a mole, that person is as good as buried. In fact, the person is better off buried alive from what little I've been able to wriggle out of my contacts. They are vicious and brutal in their punishments and have never been heard to shy away from what most other gangs would consider 'over the top' retribution. There was actually an incident a day or two ago…" The cop stopped his gaze far away. He seemed to be recalling the details. "The report had been sent in, but the commissioner was going to smother the thing in paperwork so deep it would have taken it twenty years to see daylight again. But I intercepted it on the way to his office and man," Kakashi whistled. "It was bad. Sixteen or so men had been basically mowed over, cut up and then blown up. It was the sickest crime scene that I had ever seen in my twenty years as a police detective. The only problem is I'm having trouble connecting the Akatsuki to the attack."

"So they cover their tracks well?"

"Yeah, very well."

Naruto swallowed before tentatively commenting. "So the only way to get these guys is by having really good source of information, like say…another gang boss?"

Iruka's dinner guest became deadly serious. His gaze snapped to Naruto, weighing the man with his one uncovered eye.

"If we could get someone on the inside of one of these thug organizations it would give the department and incredible edge in taking out not only their drug operations, but would go a long way into stopping their violent crime before it happens. But if the head itself were willing to feed the law information…" The detective trailed off. "Why are you asking? Do you know someone-"

"Don't be silly." It was Iruka who interrupted Kakashi's question. "He's a waiter at a bistro café. Who could he possibly know connected to that seedy part of Konoha?"

"Of course," Kakashi speared a long, thin bean and brought it up to his curtained lips. "Silly me."

Naruto chuckled self-consciously, picking at his plate for the rest of the suddenly very silent dinner. He might've actually dodged a bullet as far as Kakashi was concerned. But the blond had not missed the look his foster father had given him from his seat across the table. It was the 'I am your father and we are going to talk about this later young man' look; the same one that he used to get on a daily basis in those early years of foster care.

The remainder of the evening passed pleasantly by. Desert had been as delicious as dinner, apple cobbler with homemade vanilla ice cream to go one top and once everyone had finished, Kakashi had volunteered to stay and help clean up. The man had then regaled father and son with the stories of his reckless youth. To Iruka's horror and Naruto's twisted delight (more because of his father's reaction to the story than of the actually tale.) of a few nude poses he'd undergone as Captain Kakashi which had exponentially sped his retreat from that career; and of the trouble he and his best friend Uchiha Obito had gotten into while going through police training.

Naruto had smiled at Iruka's sheltered reactions, nodded and laughed at all the appropriate places, but his mind was on other things. _The Hebi leader had not lied to him. This new information had cast the entire incident in a new light._

_Why had the man come to him for help? Was he that desperate? Was Akatsuki putting so much pressure on Hebi? If so, why deal with him, Kyuubi, the self-declared nemesis of all illegal gangs? Why not go to the police, or leak the information to bounty hunters? What was he missing?_

Kakashi left soon after, bidding both men a pleasant night.

Naruto had discreetly headed toward the living room after the detective had bid the blond his farewell and immediately turned to the man's father.

Naruto wasn't blind and he doubted that even a blind man could've missed the affection Kakashi seemed to radiate every time his one exposed eye flicked to the brunette. Nor had Naruto missed Kakashi taking Iruka's fingers in his gloved hands before he had even begun to say 'Abiyo'.

_He didn't care,_ Naruto told himself. _He didn't care about Kakashi being a man, or his frustratingly loving smile. He didn't care about Iruka blushing to his toes every single time Kakashi gave him one of those compassionate looks. He didn't care that his father looked so happy. He didn't…he wasn't…_

_Jealous…_

But the emotion persisted, clawing at the man's stomach, a ferocious beast that threatened to consume him.

It wasn't fair that Iruka should be so happy while Naruto sat, alone. Iruka had spent his whole life happy and now, here he was again, as carefree as a lark in a blue sly, standing at the door with his special someone.

_He wasn't jealous._

Naruto had been looking, he'd been searching and looking and yearning for his precious person, for that one someone to show him true, passionate love. And he was twenty-three now…and still he waited. _Would he ever find his precious person? Did that person even exist?_

Iruka sauntered into the living room, a slight flush dusting his cheeks, a blissful expression covering the rest of his face. He was even humming quietly to himself.

The tune died in his throat when he spotted his son curled up on one side of the sofa. It was just like that; Naruto did this every time he was trying not to cry. Iruka had seen the blond like this many times over the long years of foster care. Some children went to their rooms, some went on walks, but Naruto had chosen the old torn up couch as his refuge. The couch was where Naruto went to wage war with himself.

"Naruto," Iruka sat in a chair opposite his foster child, the old parental instincts rising up to clutch at his heart.

"I approve." The blond said abruptly, his eyes focused directly on the white plaster wall behind the old sofa. "That's why I'm here right, to meet the guy and give my blessing? Well, I've met him, so go at it man."

"I don't' care for your tone." The brunette's voice was stern as steel and deadly calm. He let the bond's vaguely rude comment go, it was the hurt behind the words he wanted to get to. "I never let you speak to me that way when you were thirteen and I'm not about to let you start now."

Naruto closed his eyes. He didn't want his father to see the pain in his eyes, the sadness. _He couldn't believe he was yelling at his father; letting his emotions get a hold of him so completely. This was unreal, this was wrong. It was not Iruka's fault that he was happy. His father could not change his reality anymore than the blond could bring his parents back from the dead._

"Naruto," The brunette tried again. "I don't want to fight about this."

"No of course you don't," Naruto said, sarcasm giving his voice a bitter edge. "Why fight over such pithy things when we both know you really want to harass me about my horrid career choice."

Iruka's eyes narrowed and the muscles in his jaw clenched before he said. "So, I suppose I was right then. You've come back after these two long years. You're back a month…maybe and you're up to your old-"

"My old what?" The blonds head whipped around and he jerked off the sofa, anger tensing every muscle in his body. "My old tricks? My old habits? What if I was? What if I am? I don't live with you anymore Iruka. It's not your job to puppy-guard me from myself; that's not your burden anymore! You've somehow managed to get me to adulthood and set me free; I thought you'd be glad to be rid of the headache!"

Silence rained down on the small living room; its dispassionate howls pounding in both men's ears.

"Is that what you think that you were?" The older man said at last, struggling down tears. "A burden?"

"No, you're right," Naruto spat contemptuously. "It was all daisies and tulips, the whole time!"

"Don't mock me." Iruka stood also. "Of course there were times when you frustrated me. Of course there were moments that I wished that I hadn't chosen to foster you, but they were moments! Every parent has those and I had a built-in excuse; you manifested superpowers for heaven's sake! No first time father could have ever anticipated that! No first-time father should've had to handle that kind of situation! I did the best that I could!"

"And look, you've done so well." The blond spread his arms wide as if revealing himself. "Congratulations."

"Hey," His father placed gentle hands on tense shoulders. "I am very proud to be your parent. I am honored to have guided such an incredible young man like you to adulthood. It was my privilege to cherish you and my joy to watch you grow."

Naruto felt tears in his eyes, stinging his nose and threatening to spill down his face. And when Iruka's arms stiffened, drawing his son forward into a tight hug, he didn't resist.

"You are my son." Iruka's fierce whisper ruffled the golden tresses covering Naruto's ear. "There is nothing you can ever do that will make me stop loving you. I just…" The confession came out quickly, surprising Naruto and Iruka a little.

"I worried so much when you were sixteen. I knew you were sneaking off; I knew what you were doing. But I let you go, because I knew that you had to bring your little bit of light to this dark and chaotic part of the world. It was all you ever talked about when you were younger, before the power even showed up. You would finish reading the latest Captain Kakashi, rush over to me and declare that you were going to save the world. I couldn't help but believe you. So I let you go, for yourself, forcing myself to believe that it would be okay and you would come back home safely to me. And every morning, I would come into your room and pray that I wouldn't find an empty bed. And every night for years, you would be there waiting, lying sprawled across your bed, safe for one more day. And then my worst fears came true and you were shot, you were hurt. When I got that call from the hospital, I thought my very soul had been torn from my body. But you were alright that time and you left and now you've come back to me. You're safe."

Iruka's hug became brutal, protective.

"If I ever lost you, if you disappeared one night, killed by some drug dealing animals and dumped in a trashcan, how could I go on? How could I live, not knowing if my son were alive or dead?" The man's voice was choked with tears, but he managed to go one, his words strained and uneven.

"And now you want to destroy the Akatsuki. How can you expect me to simply stand by and watch as you take on the most violent gang that has ever come to Konoha? How can I willingly share your light with this world when I know that this world would love nothing more than to smother and destroy it?"

"Dad," The blonds forehead had come to rest on the older man's shoulder, his fists against his father's back. He had known, the whole time; about Kyuubi, about his powers, about…everything. And now, this man who had raised him, who had done his best to shield and protect him from the few realities of this world he had not tasted, was now letting him go.

Suddenly, Naruto realized that it had not been Iruka who had needed approval tonight, but himself.

This was a farewell for them both. This was their goodbye. This was Iruka giving his blessing to a young man to walk his own path, to seek his own way. It was not the way that Iruka himself would choose, for Naruto was not Iruka, and for that, both men were profoundly grateful. But it was a path that the boy, for better or worse, had always been destined to walk. And as much as Iruka detested, as much as he fought and struggled, he could not deny the thing his precious child want the most. To show to a bleak, unfeeling world that love could steer the stars.

"He's a good man." Naruto said, shrugging into his coat, his feet already shoved into his running shoes. "One of the few left in the city. He'll take good care of you."

Iruka had the grace to blush while still wiping the quickly drying remnants of tears from his cheeks.

Naruto turned to smile at his father, a hand resting gently on the door handle. "I couldn't let you go to anyone less deserving."

And then Naruto was gone, released out into the crisp evening air as the door closed finally behind him.

The blond began to walk, in which direction he didn't care. His mind was too full with the night's events and the implications which those events cast upon the previous night. He had so much to ponder; so much to consider it hurt his brain to even think about thinking about it. But that was the difference between the sassy teen whose overconfidence got him shot, and Naruto. He had to think about this, because he wasn't going to end up dead. That just wasn't the blonds' style.

**.:xXXx:.**

His head lolled to one side, a broken and tattered rag doll. His thick, purple bloated tongue stuck out from between jaggedly broken and blood-stained teeth. His eyes were open wide, an expression of horror eternally set on his swollen features. His nick was blotchy and marred by deep blue-black bruises. His cloths were torn and caked with his own fluids, whether blood or urine it was hard to tell. Both had mixed in the man's final moments of panic, smearing his skin and clothing which had frozen to his body in the chill of night and oncoming winter. His legs and arms hung limply, having long since ceased their agonized struggles. A huge wooden spike had been driven savagely through the man's chest and deeply embedded into the gray concrete slab which pressed tightly against his back. Whatever blood the man had not splattered against the wall's drab surface in his short-lived death throes or himself, had been smeared over the concrete to form gruesome letters. The message was simple, warning other gangs and any other unfortunate passers-by away from taking down the corpse from its prominently displayed local.

Sasuke took it all in, his eyes flickering over every detail, his perfect alabaster face revealing none of the rage which curled in his belly. The man was one of his; of this the raven had no doubt. And that he had died at the hands of Akatsuki's was equally undeniable.

At least he was alone to witness this newest atrocity leveled at his organization. Sasuke would take some solace in the fact that he did not have to bear Karin's incessant moaning and whimpering about the state of the body. That succor was slight, and it did little to change the unfortunate man's fate, but Sasuke could not bring him any help from this side of the grave, no matter how much pity he levied at the cold carcass.

The raven turned away from the wall and its gruesome trophy. He would send men to take down the body in the morning and wash away Akatsuki's message.

He was not afraid of the consequences such action would bring to himself and his gang for two reasons. One: it appeared as though Akatsuki had already decided that Hebi was sport enough for their tastes. And two: if his plans turned out as they always did: perfectly, than Kyuubi would have spent this day and tonight affirming Akatsuki's existence. Tomorrow night, the self-proclaimed superhero would seek him out and then, Sasuke would have the meddlesome creature exactly where he wanted him. All that the gang leader had to do until then was wait patiently, a skill which Sasuke Uchiha had perfected over the long years of his life.

The raven sighed, the warm vaporous mist of his breath curling past his nose, twisting and turning with subtle fingers to toy with the crisp air before disappearing wistfully into the starlit sky above.

Either way, Sasuke was glad that he would meet with Kyuubi tomorrow evening.

What he'd said to the blond superhero last night had been meant to tease and torment the man, but they had turned out to be very true.

Akatsuki would not wait for long.

**Author's note:** There, it's done. Thank you for bearing with me. I promise that this is SasuNaru and yaoi will be coming soon. I just don't want this to be tacky. It will come, be patient.

Oh, one last thing: I'm not delicate and I love the positive feedback. (Bear with me) If you have a constructive critisism but are afraid that I'll fly off the handle and not finish (unless that's your ulterior motive) please, I'd love any feedback whatsoever. I feel like any cratique which isn't simply pety, but well grounded, is very helpful to an author. So, please, if you have any comments to make at all, I would love to read them.


	7. Chapter7: The Unlikeliest Allies

Chapter 7: The Unlikeliest Allies

"Oi, Naruto, there's a family at table five that needs drink refills."

"Hm?" Azure eyes rolled lazily toward the brunette. Kiba, who was currently standing in front of him, held two empty water pitchers in his hands and a frown on his handsome, tattooed features.

For the umpteenth time since he'd met the boy, Naruto had wondered just how drunk Kiba had been the night he'd gotten his clan symbol: two bright red fangs, emblazoned upon his cheeks. To date, the man had maintained his story that the decision had been his mother's before he was old enough to protest. Though Naruto had met Mrs. Inuzuka and he wasn't sure that Kiba would've done much protesting of his mother's wishes even if he had been older. That woman was frightening.

"Man, are you sick or something?" The dog-lover asked, concern and frustration mingling in his voice. The frustration probably had more to do with the amount of customers and a recent fight the blond had overheard between Kiba and his girlfriend Hinata. The two were as opposite as day and night, she was sensitive, shy and soft-spoken while Kiba embodied audacious energy. It was why the two were so incredibly attracted to one another; it was also why they got into such big misunderstandings. But the blond wasn't all that concerned, Hinata was Kiba's precious person, the fights never lasted long. In fact, the brunette had even confided that he planned on proposing soon.

"I have never seen you more out of it than you have been all day today. Are you coming down with something or what?"

"I didn't…get much sleep last night." Naruto mumbled. The blond quickly apologized and headed out to the dining room. He had a ton of work to catch up on. He didn't mean to worry his friend. He wasn't sick or anything like that. He'd been telling the truth when he'd said lack of sleep was playing a huge part; the blond actually hadn't gotten to bed until early that morning. Naruto couldn't help that, and even if he had gone to bed at a reasonable hour last night, he probably would've been tossing and turning all night anyways.

He had too much on his mind right now.

Kiba was just looking out for him; he was a decent friend that way. But at the moment, Naruto didn't want concern, he didn't need sympathy, he needed to talk to someone, to verbalize his frustrations and…decide what to do about the really screwed up situation he was in with Hebi and Akatsuki. And that someone was not Kiba.

Maybe all he really needed was to get his mind off of his problems for a few hours, let it work itself out on his own. Naruto knew what the real problem was. He was out of control right now and he hated that feeling. He needed to get a grip.

The blond slipped through the thick double doors and into the dining area, his feet automatically taking him to table five. It was a family he'd seen in 'Leaf' before; Asuma and Kuriena is he recalled correctly. He could see the third member of the Sarutobi family, the dark haired toddler shrieked with delight as Asuma began pock/tickle the child. However, the blond couldn't come up with their kid's name to save his life. _Ah, well_, he thought dismissively. _He'd ask when he refilled their drinks. The small-talk would probably be the best way to keep his mind off his current set of troubles._

The chime on the front door jingled lightly as the glass entrance swung open. Naruto's gaze shifted towards the source of the musical disturbance and froze.

At first he thought he was hallucinating; lack of sleep and all that. It was really the only reasonable explanation for why Naruto's eyes were showing him the tall lean figure of a certain raven haired man who'd only been to the café once before and to whom Naruto had been expressly rude.

"Oh, merde…" The blond hissed in French before he started laughing at himself. It had been one of the…three words he'd actually managed to glean from the stupid high school class; the other two were less flattering. The story would've been amusing if it wasn't so tragic. The teacher he'd taught his class to swear, in fact, Naruto had discovered the word by accident. He'd been trying to recite the days of the week and apparently had substituted some Spanish in. The result: well, the class' reaction couldn't have been better. However, Naruto had spent a good hour after school writing out the days of the week correctly on the professor's chalkboard and later explaining to Iruka that it had in fact been an accident. He'd been kicked out of the private school, their strict principal making it quite clear to Iruka that his foster son wouldn't be welcomed back to the academy unless he wrote and recited in front of the entire student body, a formal apology. Naruto refused to do any such thing and was then black-balled from Konoha high schools, branded as a trouble-maker. Iruka had no choice but to keep homeschooling the blond after that failed first semester.

Needless to say, after that sad incident, Naruto had chosen Spanish as his second language.

The waiter took a deep, steadying breath. It didn't really matter that the guy had come back; it really wasn't any of his business where the jerk chose to go. Besides, he reasoned, he was on his way to table five, so the jerk would get seated be someone else and the blond wouldn't have to deal with him.

Unfortunately, the man didn't seem interested in waiting for someone to seat him. To Naruto's shock, the brunette strode fluidly over to the back corner, towards the surprisingly unoccupied conference table…his table.

Biting back another of his French curses, Naruto moved to intercept the nuisance before he got too far into the restaurant.

"Excuse me sir," He popped up before the raven, stopping the man in his tracks. The blond plastered on his fake smile before attempting to lead the guy back to the front of the café so someone-anyone-else could see him and take him away.

"But if you could please just wait over where you were. I'm sure someone will be able to seat you shortly."

The response was mild. "You look available."

Azure eyes widened in surprise. Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but when his gaze locked with the ravens, his excuse died on his lips.

The man's eyes were strange, otherworldly. Black on black…the impossibly dark irises melded together with the man's black pupils creating a fathomless void, a galaxy of empty space that pulled like a vacuum and held less oxygen. Those eyes held nothing and everything all at once, as full as the multi-verse and as empty as death, but permeated with a spark of some alien intelligence that enthralled and frightened the blond all at once. Naruto was caught and somehow he could not look away…wasn't even certain that he wanted to. He could all but feel himself being sucked in, into the beautiful, bottomless pools of liquid ebony.

The strange smell of oncoming rain and fresh sheets swirled around Naruto, creeping along his senses to thread a new dimension through his already hazy reason. He felt something stir, a cold shiver that traveled down his spine and whispered along his skin. But as the chill teased his backbone, a strange heat began to tingle and shiver along his skin. He didn't know what it was or what was happening, but the blond knew that he enjoyed the sensation of a million tiny hands pressing into his flesh.

The scent was from him, the man in front of him. If Naruto were analytical, he might call the scent unique. He might've praised it for its clean, for it was that novelty which drew his senses like a magnet. However, the analytical portion of the waiter's mind was no longer accessible. He was lost in the sight and smell of this man. He was still being drawn into those eyes… He would drown in them-he knew-if he were pulled too far into that terrifying blackness. But for some reason, the blond thought that it might be the death he preferred.

Naruto inhaled sharply, allowing the overpowering scent of rain and fresh laundry to wash over him one last time as he took a quick step backwards.

The wave of power and passion which had engulfed him broke, leaving the Uzumaki drained, tired and very shaken.

It was the realization that he was starting into the eyes of what many, (heck, the whole world) would've considered a gorgeous man in the middle of a very crowded café which spurred Naruto into action. Snagging a menu from Ino who was, thankfully, coming from table five; the blond waiter spun on his heel and stalked purposefully to the back corner. As he assumed, when he laid the menu down, his customer was there to sit.

"You're lucky that I'm so generous." The Uzumaki growled, moving away to get a glass of water for his 'royal highness '. "Or else I would've just let Ino or Sakura seat your frosty butt and let the two of them feast on your immortal soul."

"One pot of hot green tea." Was all the man said in response to the blonds' insinuations.

"Cold bastard," Naruto muttered, (the pleasant affects of their staring contest long gone) a little too loudly as he turned and walked away.

.:xXXx:.

He was glad that he came back. Of course, the tea was a decent enough incentive, but it was the atmosphere here which Sasuke liked.

He had felt the subtle washes of calm and peace his last visit; two elements which the raven currently lacked in his life. It was the same now. Even with the place as nicely busy as it was, there was still a warmth generated here which the young Uchiha found…soothing.

But then there was his waiter. Sasuke had not missed the strange time stop when the blond and he had locked gazes. He was not vain enough to deny a lack of participation on his part. But while his waiter seemed to be lost in some sort of sensual coma; Sasuke had maintained the presence of mind to examine the effects of the bizarre phenomenon. He had studied the man, really studied the blond while he was so near. The first feature he noticed, besides the oddly fascinating eyes and the unruly golden hair, were the scars. Six horizontal marks, three on each tanned cheek, were cruelly etched into the otherwise flawless face. There was a story behind those scars.

The man was handsome, the Uchiha mused. His blond hair and sun kissed skin brought with it a unique attractiveness which was rare in Konoha's largely china doll populous.

The blonds' smell had drifted over the raven as he assumed his had done. It was not subtle, it assaulted and overpowered, the distinctive mix of spices and musk. The smell of spices hit first, the fragrance of innocent, street-ignorant man, but what the undercurrent washed along with it…ah. The musk had carried a dangerous edge that Sasuke found as intriguing as it was addictive. The Hebi leader's instincts had talk him that this man was something out of the common way, and now his intellect was beginning to concur.

Even the man's name was different. Sasuke had read the gold tag pinned to the man's light blue T-shirt. 'Naruto' it had displayed in gleaming black letters; it was a name Sasuke had never heard before, which fit the blond perfectly. After all, the raven had never met anyone so…brutally honest about his emotions, in his life.

It seemed as though any of the other three staff members Sasuke had seen scurrying back and forth would've been a vast improvement as far as social graces went.

But no matter how the Uchiha sliced it, the back table was the most strategically situated. So, if Sasuke was going to enjoy the placid comfort of 'Leaf', he would put up with an inferior waiter. Granted, the man was attractive, but inferior nonetheless.

The Uchiha's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

Perhaps inferior was too much, conceivably moronic, maybe imbecilic. But there was that irrefutable fact that 'Naruto' had actually given him some astonishingly sound advice.

So the blond was no fool. It was more likely and sadly obvious that his waiter was unused to having his instructions disregarded. Sasuke knew the feeling well, but he, unlike the waiter, was in a position where he didn't have to take disobedience. And the Hebi leader had no intention of being ordered into a less than ideal location just to stroke the ego of an over opinionated plebian.

Besides, 'Naruto's' frustration was…amusing. It was feasible, he reasoned, to assume that it was the raven's disregard which was causing the disturbance and incorrigible attitude.

Sasuke's perfect forehead smoothed back to its' typical inexpressiveness. The beginnings of a plan started to swirl around in his mind.

.:xXXx:.

_In retrospect, Naruto should've seen the change in his customer's body language when he got back to the conference table. It was slight enough, but knowing the raven as he would come to, the memory of the man's anticipation was nearly palpable. _

Naruto set down the coaster and pot; placing the tea mug within his client's reach…barely.

"Have you made your decision yet?"

He'd meant to sound harsh and impatient, but the raven-haired man stared up at him, obsidian eyes unwavering in their calm.

Naruto hastily looked away, unwilling to be caught flat-footed like he had been the first time. He clutched at his notepad, quickly flipping through its pages.

"Brazed chicken breast," The customer spoke evenly. "A baked potato to side: butter, no sour cream," Naruto almost made a comment about the man's face curdling milk anyway, but had to keep writing. "…chives, of you carry them and I my vegetable will be brussel sprouts-"

"Hold on," Naruto interrupted, his incredulous gaze shifting back and forth between his notepad and the brunette. "You mean you actually like brussel sprouts?"

The question had almost been an accusation the way his waiter had shouted it.

Refusing to be goaded, Sasuke replied mildly. "I do not pay you to make comments on my meals choices."

"No," The blond agreed, chuckling. "You just pay me to give you advice."

He looked up at the exasperatingly perky blond and asked. "If I offered you payment, would you consider not talking?" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Naruto blinked. His hands dropped to his sides and he began to laugh. "You…" He managed. "You told a joke. I can't believe it. A frosty little jerk like you, that's awesome!"

Sasuke arched an eyebrow, turning to pour some of the steaming green liquid into the nearby mug.

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Naruto regretted them. It didn't matter how he felt about a customer, it was his job to make them feel welcome and at home. It didn't matter if this guy was cold or he never smiled and he just plain rubbed the blond the wrong way. What mattered was that Naruto had just screwed up and now he had to fix it, before an angry customer got him fired from his job. He couldn't let that happen, not after Iruka had pulled in as many favors as he did, just for his son. He was just going to have to suck this one up.

The blond sat. For the second time in two days he was sitting with a customer and it wasn't even someone he liked talking to.

"Hey, I…uh…" He wasn't even sure how to start. Man, he was bad at apology's "I didn't mean that, what I said. I'm sure that you're really a great person."

The raven lifted the gently steaming mug to his lips. Maybe not.

Naruto tried again. "I'm sorry for my bad manners. It was very rude of me to speak so casually to you."

"Not at all."

The raven continued to gaze ahead as he addressed his server calmly. "Your frankness is comprehendible, inexcusable, but comprehendible nonetheless."

"How…magnanimous of you." The blond was hard-pressed to keep sarcasm from his tone. Seriously, did this guy have to talk like he was from a freaking' Jan Austen book? Although, he had basically let Naruto off the hook; the blond should be grateful, but instead all he was was irritated. It was the thought that he owed anything to this man that was…frustrating.

"Idiot," The man murmured. "Don't use such large words when you have no idea what they even mean."

"Hey don't be a jerk." Naruto growled defensively. "I totally can use big words."

When the raven made no answer, the Uzumaki persisted. "Just because I'm not all egotistical about my intelligence like you and show off with my huge vocabulary, don't assume that I'm stupid."

"I never assume." Sasuke said matter-of-factly. "And by no means those who serve me."

Naruto grit his teeth. This guy didn't get it.

"Nobody likes you when you get like this, you...you…Teme."

Sasuke tried not to laugh at the blond. Apparently, the waiter thought that Teme, meant something insulting when the word, literally just meant: 'you'. Schooling his features, the raven looked directly into Naruto's eyes and said. "Would your opinion of me change if I were to become more like yourself: loud and angry?"

Naruto was taken aback by the man's bluntness. In return, his own answer was a little more honest than he intended.

"Well…um…it would make it easier…I mean, to tell what it is you're really thinking."

The raven laughed. Naruto couldn't believe his ears. Well, okay, it wasn't a full laugh or anything; it really didn't even qualify as a chuckle. I was more of a 'che' combined with the slightest hint of upturned lip. But to the Uchiha and Uzumaki both, it was monumental; one because he never smile, the other because it was a sign.

"Uzumaki," Naruto, spurred on by the raven's show of expression, risked putting his hand out first. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto."

For a moment neither moved. The blond was afraid for a second that the man would leave him awkwardly hanging, a punishment for his rude comments. But the instant passed and his hand was encased by strong white fingers. They were slender, but surprisingly strong.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

The blond shook the hand and grinned so wide it threatened to spill off his face. He released the brunette…Sasuke's hand and rose to go. "Your order should be out in twenty minutes. I'll even personally make sure that your brussel sprouts are cooked to your exact specifications." Even though both knew that he had been given no such specifications.

"Idiot." The Uchiha went stoically back to enjoying his tea, mildly surprised that the culmination of his plan had been more pleasant that he had anticipated.

And the blond went back to the kitchen, steadfastly certain that he had made a friend from a former enemy.

The day, eased by an unexpected and newfound camaraderie, passed quickly for them both.

.:xXXx:.

The air was cool, not cold, but held in it the biting promise of winter. The night had brought with it a fresh breeze from the Northern region of Sand; the warm undertones staving off what would've undoubtedly been a chilly evening.

Overhead the stars winked in and out of view from behind the ethereal wisps of cloud, flashing their brilliance like a million paparazzi flashbulbs. The moon was still full, one of the last nights this month that its luster would paint Konoha's sidewalks and streets white with its glow. Its impressive radiance, however, would not have much opportunity toward that end, for its light was intermittently interrupted by the same vaporous interlopers which played with the stars.

Sasuke was not worried about the lack of consistent light. This celestial tendency in fact aided the plan he was ready to set in motion should the need arise tonight.

At the moment his musings tended towards the actual amount of time he was going to have to stay up in this rooftop, waiting for Kyuubi.

He was not dressed like the head of Hebi. His wardrobe instead was that of every homeless street rat he'd seen scampering around Konoha's dirty back alleys. After all, there was no need to give the man any clues about 'Sound' or how well off he actually was. Sasuke's jacket was thick, tattered, dark blue and hooded, his jeans were battered, as dark as his coat and for the first time in many months, the Uchiha was wearing tennis shoes. But he knew his casual appearance would not be a hindrance. Kyuubi would find him. In fact, The Uchiha was sure that the man was out even now, searching the city for Boss Hebi.

Sasuke was not by nature, a suspicious man. Years of living amongst thieves and murderers had a way of reshaping one's naive preconceptions about humanity and tended to make one more fundamentally cautious. He knew that the vigilante superhero would come to him eventually and, if the man were smart, he would try to kill Sasuke. The Uchiha was not bothered. He lived with that particular threat hanging consistently over his head; an axe ready to drop. And he, as always, was prepared.

Something moved behind him. Sasuke felt the shift in air around him; it was one of the few useful things his father had drilled into his youngest son before his untimely death along with an unparalleled affinity for knife, gun and hand-to hand combat. Sasuke could do it all.

The raven spun his arms already fluidly in motion. His right hand gripped and drew the modified 9mm handgun concealed at the small of his back; his left deftly flicked to the hood of his jacket, making sure it didn't fall off his head in the sharp turn. It hung partially over his features, covering his distinctive raven hair and pale face. No clues.

He'd judged the angle correctly. The moon was behind him as he turned so to the onlooker, his face would appear a disembodied voice at best.

"That's far enough." He held his gun high and pointing straight at the superheroes chest. It was point blank range. Sasuke was slightly surprised and warily impressed that Kyuubi had managed to come so close without him noticing. It reaffirmed what the Hebi leader had already suspected: this man was far more dangerous than even Karin had guessed. However, the raven was vastly confident that he had the situation in hand, no one, not even the hero of Konoha could take a bullet to the chest from three feet and survive unless he was packing protection. And from the way the man's black shirt fit to his toned abdomen, Sasuke doubted that he wore a flack-jacket underneath.

Kyuubi stopped and raised his hands over his head, but the gesture was flippant, casual, as if the whole thing had been his idea. His face was mostly hidden by the cursed mask he wore, so his actual expression was hidden from view. But Sasuke would have laid down money that the fool was grinning. He filed the adjective: 'unflappable' under the Kyuubi folder in his brain, along with 'tool' and 'moron'.

"You have something to say to me." It was not a question.

Kyuubi chuckled, a dark, forbidding sound that echoed ominously into the night. "Boss Hebi…I think that I would be ten kinds of fool not to look at your offer as anything except the trap it more than likely is. But…" The hero's hands eased down to his sides to swing loosely by his hips. Sasuke didn't stop him. "I also see that you are alone, and have been for some time, which is convincing. I think that I would be another ten kinds of fool to refuse such an offer from the head of Hebi himself. Truce."

"You have learned enough about Akatsuki to satisfy you then." This wasn't a question either.

"I have," The vigilante's red eyes glowed in the dim light, eerily bright and focused directly on Sasuke's face; as if the man could pierce the deeper shadows which surrounded the gang boss' features with his bloody gaze. That thought made Sasuke pause. He was not completely beyond the reach of police. If he were identified and arrested, even if the charges produced no conviction, his legitimate business at 'Sound' would be hurt. "But I think that you know all sorts of yummy details about them this group that I haven't heard."

Sasuke put the gun down, sliding it into its place at his back. "East."

"The ruined part of town," Kyuubi mused aloud. He quieted for a moment as he digested this piece of information. "They are worth my full effort for the time being." The superhero went on at length before his voice took on an amused undertone. "Lucky for you."

The statement irked the Uchiha, something his body and face reflexively hid. This man had forgotten quickly that he had been three feet from a bullet in his chest. "Or for you."

The blond laughed, it resonated deep in his chest and emerged from his throat, a profound, satisfying rumble. "If you think that I'm intimidated by you, you've got another thing coming." His gaze was deadly, murderous. "Once I have annihilated the Akatsuki, I will come for you, in the night, when you least expect it. I will find you and I will enjoy hearing you scream."

Sasuke snorted. This guy was nothing but a posturing blowhard after all. He hoped that the man actually did live through Akatsuki, that way Sasuke could kill him himself.

"Fool," The raven's tone was bland. "I always expect it. If you want to kill me, you will have to come much closer than anyone in the world has ever come to me." He wasn't sure why he added it; perhaps Sasuke wanted to know just how far the 'Hero of Konoha' would go to destroy him.

Kyuubi didn't respond, for a moment. After a second though, the blond shrugged. "All this talk of me killing you is pointless right now. Once I have dealt with the Akatsuki, then…then…" His smile this time was visible, even through the man's mask. "Well…the future is full of possibilities, isn't it?" The man shook off some of his cheer. "But for now, we've become…the unlikeliest allies, haven't we?"

He didn't wait for the gang leader's response, turning instead and walking to the edge of the building. Without as much as a good-bye, the man jumped.

The man wasn't dead. Sasuke wasn't that lucky. As the brunette casually leaned his back against the building's high edge, he pondered the night's meeting.

His proposal had been accepted, he'd been threatened, he'd been a hair's breath away from killing the man in front of him…all in all, a typical night's work.

Sasuke's mind flicked to the superhero. He would seek Akatsuki in earnest now and with any luck, one or both of his enemies would be dead by the end of the month.

But the Uchiha had a feeling that it would not be Kyuubi who fell.

No…he and the masked hero would meet again.

Author's note: My usual call for rates and reviews.

I wanted to make Sasuke smell all dangerous and sexy, giving Naruto the innocent, clean smell, but the smells didn't fit their personalities. Besides, I like the way it worked out: Sasuke with the fresh scent and Naruto with his spicy smell and dangerous undertones of Kyuubi.

Oh, just so you all know, this is going to be a true SasuNaru, not a NaruSasu. I hate those. I'm sorry if I just broke anyone's hearts because they were enjoying the story and now they can't finish because Sasuke doesn't catch in my narrative.

Until next time...


	8. Chapter8: The Visitation

Chapter 8: The Visitation

He grunted and panted, sweat trickling in thick droplets down his face. He flicked the stinging liquid from his eyes with a grimy forefinger, managing to catch most of it before it seeped into his alcohol bleared vision.

The woman in front of him, bent at the waist and sprawled over his office desk moaned. The too tight, too short red dress she wore was bunched up around her waist, and whatever underwear she might've possessed had been discarded long ago. Her matted brown curls and blood-shot, heavily make-upped green eyes might've been beautiful years ago when she'd first come into this sordid profession. Now however, it matched the rest of her: dirty ragged and desperately calling out for attention.

"Shut up!" Danzo thrust harshly into the woman's boney butt. She moaned wantonly, shoving her hips back to meet his savage penetration.

"Do you want the whole building to hear you?" The man growled, his hips working furiously to punish and hurt the unfortunate writhing bundle of bones beneath him.

The hooker squirmed, her cheap plastic fingernails scrabbling against the scratched, chipped wood, but she didn't answer. Danzo didn't pay her to carry on an intelligent conversation; he paid her to bend over, no questions asked as many times as he wanted her. Once he'd finished his sweating and panting and poorly executed thrusts, after all her faking and wriggling, she collected her cool $2,000 and walked away until the next time he called her.

She hated this man, this abundant source of income she'd discovered nearly ten years ago. She despised every hair, every particle of skin and semen he left for her to clean off herself. Every awful, abusive mark he left on her. She loathed this man. But she wouldn't have to put up with him for much longer. Soon, she was going to take all of the bit and pieces of information she'd gleaned over the years to get away from this sick bastard and she'd be set for life. A life where she wouldn't have to scrape and clutch and cow-tow to lecherous men, drunk off the power they felt when they bent her over.

Danzo screeched and quivered like he'd been stuck with a tazor. After he was finished, he pulled out and turned, leaving the whore to her own maintenance.

"Your payment is on the desk." He said, not bothering to check on her. He heard papers shifting, the padding of eight-inch heels on his dirty, threadbare carpet, the door to his office opening and shutting. And he was alone.

The smell of semen and cheap perfume hung heavy in the air. He'd have to air out the room before he left for the night, which would also have to be soon. He wouldn't want his wife to get too suspicious after all.

He reached for the window blinds...

His door opened behind him. Danzo turned to bark out angrily. "You idiots, didn't I tell you that I didn't want any inter-" His voice caught. Fear became palpable, a fist clutching at his throat.

The first to enter the room, a man of average height and fiery red hair, was quite apparently the leader. They way the other two came up from behind and edged around to cover his blind-side.

Easily a dozen fixtures; all large geometric, iron piercings gleamed from the redhead's nose, lips and ears. The man wore a black coat, as did the other two, further proof that they were connected. Brilliant red clouds had been dyed into the fabric.

The redhead stepped casually forward, his arms spread wide as though he and Danzo were old friends. His face, however, remained impassibly fixed. "Commissioner," The man's voice was cold. "How are you this evening, satisfied?" When the old man made no response, he continued. "I assume because we ran into your lady friend on our way inside; lovely girl, at least...she was."

"Who are you?" Danzo took a step back, tripping over his desk chair in his hasty retreat. "What do you want?"

"My name is Pain." The redhead gestured to the man on his right.

Danzo felt another shiver creep along his spine.

The man was tall, freakishly so. And his skin was...unnaturally blue, like his whole body had been frost bitten and tinted a light cerulean permanently. The man leered evilly, revealing two rows of sharp, filed teeth.

"This is Kisame."

A head nod the left indicated a man with long blond hair and deep, insane blue eyes.

"This is Deidara."

The blond leaned next to the door a lighter in one hand, which he repeatedly flicked on and snapped shut, the mad gleam in his one uncovered eye focused one Danzo.

Pain leaned forward, his fingers splayed atop the desk surface. "And what myself and my associates would like from you, is information."

Danzo sat, a smug smile spreading across his ugly mug. He was in control now, he was sure of that. He'd struck many a deal with the worst the underworld had to offer. He'd dealt with men exactly like this 'Pain' fellow, men who thrived on intimidation and used fear to get what they want.

He met Pain's odd, swirling purple gaze. "Information, yes, knowledge is power, wouldn't you agree? What could a poor, old police commissioner possibly know that would interest you, Mr. Pain?" The cop leaned forward to ensure the proper emphasis was placed upon his next question. "And what would you willing to offer in exchange?"

The room was silent, as if the very air itself were absorbing the implication of Danzo's question.

Pain straightened, his fingertips slowly sliding off the edge as his spine drew straight. "I want a name Commissioner, just one and then you will never see myself or these fine gentlemen again."

Danzo gulped, a swallow that did little to ease his parched throat.

The ginger before him smiled, it was a hideous apparition and the cop was suddenly not so certain that he was the one in control. He felt icy fingers of fear grip at his chest.

"We want the man whom you are working for."

"I don't think that the mayor-" The rest of Danzo's sentence was drown in a gargling scream. Pain had come across the desk so fast, that Danzo didn't even register the change until his hand erupted into a blinding wall of agony. The man tried to bring it up to his face, to identify the source of the pain, but...his hand couldn't move.

Danzo tugged frantically at his unresponsive appendage before rolling bleary eyes down to his desk. His stomach threatened to revolt, bile climbed up his throat. It was pinioned to his desk by his Konoha PD ballpoint pen, the crimson speckling navy blue. The twisted irony, however was lost as the blood from his hand pooled under his fingertips and began to drip off the edge of his desk to puddle and coagulate on the threadbare carpet.

The man whimpered and Pain's cold, menacing tone purred in his ear. "Try again, Commissioner."

Konoha's chief of police shrieked as Pain's fingers wrapped around the pen still embedded in his flesh, twisting it slowly. He could feel the bones breaking and bending along with the same cruelly ponderous turn of Pain's fingers.

"What do you want from me!" Danzo's scream was pathetic and frightened, tears and snot mingled on his cheeks.

Mercifully, the ginger's hand stopped, but he continued to grasp the pen tightly as he spoke. His voice was calm, cordial; Danzo would've almost called it friendly. "Give us the name of the man you work for."

In one last stupid show of bravery, the commissioner remained silent. Pain's purple eyes seemed to swirl madly and he jerked the pen sharply, breaking the tip off inside the man's punctured hand.

Mingling with Danzo's wretched shrieking was Pain's cold voice.

"Give us the name of Boss Hebi."

**.:xXXx:.**

Uchiha Sasuke, are you sure?"

Naruto leaned back, his elbows against the worn bar-top. Easing his arm around, the flaxen-haired youth took up his nearby mug. He shrugged to his companion, a thin man with intelligent brown eyes and dark hair scraped back into a high, straight pony-tail; which Naruto likened to the one his foster father wore.

"Yeah, I mean, he didn't stutter when he said it or anything, so I guess it's his real name. Besides," The blond snapped the fingers of his free hand as if he'd just thought of something. "He didn't have a reason to lie to me."

They were at the Naruto Bar and grill, an establishment happily situated underneath the Naruto bridge, an old crossing from the newer, Northern part of the city to the old Southern. Of course, Naruto had been properly hazed for sharing it and the bar's name, even though both had come into existence decades before the blond; the bridge even longer than that. But that had mattered little to Kiba, Shikamaru, Sakura and Ino, 'Leaf's' close-knit waiting staff. And in the end, Naruto really didn't care about the jabs either; they were heartfelt and a sign that he was welcome in their strange little community.

Going to the Naruto bar after a difficult day had become a tradition to the group. And everyone was present with the exception of Kiba, who had gone home with Hinata, presumably to make-up for their argument from the previous day. Naruto missed the energetic brunette's today more than he typically did, today had been especially difficult for the blond. He needed the crazy guy's wild and dismissive nature.

After Sasuke left, leaving Naruto with a second and quite sizable tip, a group of twenty had burst into the restaurant and demanded immediate service. What made the intrusion so irritating was that it was the commissioner of police: Danzo and his 'elite squad of Konoha defense forces' counsil. Everyone in Konoha knew that the chief was taking bribes from the gangs and cartels that networked in the cities back alleys like a nervous system. He was a slimy, despicable, cretin the blond hated with every fiber of his soul.

He had been on watch the night Naruto's parents had been slaughtered.

It had been Danzo's job to make sure security was airtight at the hospital where Uzumaki Kushina was in labor. The man had been personally assigned to oversee Minato's protection, but he'd been..."incapacitated" was the excuse he'd used at the hearing months after they died. The bastard had pled to be "incapacitated" with a great man burned.

He'd become commissioner of Konoha's police department years after he'd been cleared of negligence, a verdict Naruto never forgave the system for. Once in power, Danzo's corruption had only spread. No solid evidence was ever brought to light, the man was too smart for that, but everyone knew. Just like Danzo knew about the child born to the two he had failed to protect. He knew Naruto, knew his hate and hated him back. Maybe it was the truth in the blonds' eyes, the honestly and righteous anger that Danzo could never stomach. Maybe it was simply because Naruto reminded him of a failure, one that would perhaps haunt him for the rest of his life. But Naruto was not betting on the latter.

Danzo had taken one look at his server and smiled that arrogant smile of his. The one that made Naruto want to throttle a confession from his putrid lips.

Immediately after they were situated, the customers began complaining. About the inadequate space, about the lack of staff attentiveness, about the food; it honestly hadn't seemed to matter what they were complaining about as long as they had something to whine about.

But Naruto wasn't waiting tables at 'Leaf' right now and for that he was very grateful. Even though everyone sitting at the bar knew that tomorrow they would all be back at the café, a whole new set of challenging customers and situations to test their patience. For now, all that mattered was the clink of glasses, the feeling of fellowship and the sweet mull of beer to expunge the days' events.

"That wasn't what I was asking." Shikamaru, the 'Leaf's' resident bartender/cocktail mixer sighed. "I just wanted to make sure that you heard the correct name was all."

"Yeah, he said his name was Uchiha Sasuke and he shook my hand." The blond took a swallow from his mug. "Why? What's the big deal about the name Uchiha anyways? I mean, I know that Sasuke thinks that he's all that, the way he acts all stuck-up and stuff."

"Uchiha!" The squeal came from Naruto's right. The blond tossed a glance over to where his two female companions were sitting. It was Ino who had yelled. She and Sakura were leaning eagerly forward to catch his response.

"As in Uchiha Sasuke, the breathtakingly beautiful, charming, stylish, handsome, and deliciously single owner of one of the most popular night clubs In Konoha?" The blond clarified.

"Um," Naruto cleared his throat uncomfortably. He wasn't sure if he would've used those descriptors…aloud. "Yes?"

"I can't believe you didn't recognize Sasuke-kun." The woman with hair dyed light pink rolled her vivid green eyes dramatically. "Everyone knows who he is."

His beer forgotten, Naruto eyed Sakura. "How do you know him?"

Sakura opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Shikamaru chimed in. "Like Ino said, the man is the sole owner of a very popular night club over on the other side of the river."

"A nightclub."

"You must've heard of it." Sakura this time. "Even if you've only been back in Konoha for a few weeks, you must've at least heard of 'Sound'."

'Sound' well of course Naruto had heard of the club. He'd never gone, but he'd certainly heard the name before. It was a rich person's club from what he'd heard. An elitist bar that catered towards Konoha's upper crust; those with far too much time and cash on their hands who couldn't think of constructive ways to put it to use besides feeding their baser appetites.

The blond had really never felt any real desire to go there. His life was too full with work and fighting crime and…well; he'd never felt any desire to go there.

Now though…now Naruto was curious.

"Hey, guys, thanks for the drink." Naruto put the mostly empty mug on the bar and grabbed for his jacket. "I'm going to head home. I've got to open tomorrow." The excuse was lame and he knew it, but if any of the other three had noticed, they chose not to comment.

"See you guys later."

Only Shikamaru waved, a lazy flick of two fingers. Sakura and Ino were still busy naming all of Uchiha Sasuke's perfect attributes. Naruto had a feeling that the pair would still be going strong by the time the bar closed.

The blond shrugged into his jacket, a black and orange Northface reject which Iruka had found for him on ultra-clearance a year or so ago. The soft-shell coat had two things going for it in Naruto's opinion. One, it was incredibly warm and two: one of the two colors was his favorite. Though he would let anyone guess which color it was. As he stepped from the bar's toasty interior into the night's growing chill, he was once again very thankful for the former.

It was October in Konoha and the nights were getting progressively colder, a teaser of the snow everyone knew was only a month and a half away.

Naruto glanced at his watch. The display read a cool 11:00 pm, there was more than enough time to check out the club Sasuke owned, ride the last bus home and still gut the five hours of sleep he would need to minimally function at work the following morning.

The plan set firmly in his mind, the blond set out on foot over the Naruto Bridge, toward Sasuke.

**.:xXXx:.**

It took less time than he thought it would to reach 'Sound'. And it had been very easy to find; well all the blond really had to do was follow the steady stream of luxury cars to it. Nobody in South Konoha drove those foreign cars, not unless they could replace it quickly.

Naruto studied the building from his position across the somewhat busy intersection. It looked okay from where he was standing. That was to say, it looked more upbeat, stylish and expensive than any or all of the clubs Naruto had ever frequented put together. It was shiny, tall, black and new. The blond wondered for a moment if it was tinted glass or if the building was actually made out of stone. Because if it was, his cost estimate to construct the establishment would raise to an altogether disgusting price-range.

He crossed the street slowly, keeping clear of the already inebriated guests driving away from the club. He paused in front of the club's massive entrance, apprehension and anxiety mixing their own delightful cocktail of butterflies in his stomach. _What was he doing here, at this high-class club? He didn't belong. What was so important about seeing Sasuke's club in the first place? Why couldn't he just leave well enough alone and just wait for the guy to come back to the café if he wanted to talk? This was a bad idea, he should never have come. _

The blond took a step back, easing down the steps as if he was afraid someone would see him and drag him inside. But he knew that if he turned back now, he would always wonder…and Uzumaki Naruto was not a man of many intentional regrets.

He hesitated a moment longer, allowing the sheer awesomeness of the structure to wash over his nerves before he plunged inside.

Naruto was drowning in atmosphere. Having heightened senses wasn't normally a problem for the blond. There was the occasional awkward day when he could smell Sakura and every female in the café ovulating, or that one time when he'd gone into a public restroom and heard the guy in the stall next to him jacking off. But, to the man's credit, he'd been mostly silent through the whole ordeal, it had been his erratic breathing which tipped Naruto off and to the blonds' credit, as soon as he had figured it out, he'd gotten out of there as fast as he could.

But in this place, his senses were overloading, sights and smells and sounds came from all directions, all at once and Naruto wondered if this was what it felt like to be high.

Lights of every shade and vivid hue swirled about from random locations around the ceiling and walls, painting patterns on the thrashing and twisting body of clubbers who occupied a depressed segment of the club's floor. This was obviously the dance portion of the level. The very air was alive with activity, literally. Dancers, both male and female twisted around poles in various locations around the room, trapped in cages hoisted from the ceiling far above, or prancing along catwalks which criss-cross all the way to the second floor. These dancers, those whom Naruto could see, rolled their limber bodies to the music, undulating hips to the pulsing bass beat that thrummed through 'Sound' like a heartbeat. Their costumes, if one could call what they wore 'clothing' stretched sensuously over smooth, sweat-slicked skin, their colors muted and indiscernible in the club's constantly changing light.

The bar was aptly named Naruto decided. For the noise inside was nearly deafening. Whatever latest pop trash song was pouring through the speakers; the place was packed with people, all laughing, talking…burping, or whatever, all at once. The combination was something Naruto had never experienced in his life before. Every bar he'd ever gone to had been warm, homely. They were places where nobody posted the nightly specials because the drinks were all dirt cheap anyway. They were places where the old folks gathered to share stories and a good drink. They were places where the bartender had laugh-lines and knew everyone by name.

This place was very different. The atmosphere in 'Sound' was hot, erratic and wild. The air pulsated with a heavy undertone that was all about sex.

Naruto threaded his way deeper into the densely packed club, trying not to spill anyone's drinks while at the same time keeping an eye out for a distinctive raven hair-do.

He didn't see Sasuke, although the flashing strobe lights weren't doing much to help him on that end. Besides, Naruto chided himself, the man just owned the club, he didn't come here to take jell-o shots every night. In fact, Naruto wouldn't have been surprised at all if the raven weren't even on this side of the Naruto Bridge at this very moment. Or if 'Sound' didn't even carry jell-o shots.

The thought made him strangely melancholy and Naruto, for the second time that hour, wondered what it was he was doing here. It wasn't like he'd come to see Sasuke. He'd just been curious was all, and now that he'd seen the place, well, he might as well go home and get a good night's slee-

He heard it. He swore he heard the name, from somewhere above him and distantly, but he'd heard it. "Sasuke," The blond turned, his wide blue eyes searching the deeper shadows of the upper level. He could make out booths, and some people moving around, but that was little help. Sighing, Naruto continued to walk. _He'd probably just imagined it, his crazy mind conjuring names out of thin air. Wishful thinking, that's what it was. But why would he want to wish for Sasuke?_

The blond was at the bar then. It was a huge slab of granite that ran the entire length of the building's back wall. The light was more stable here, white and less prone to sudden shifts; it was also a little quieter here, not much, but enough to stop the ringing in Naruto's ears.

He found a single empty seat somewhere near the middle and lowered himself onto the black leather upholstery.

Immediately, a bartender, dressed in a spotless black tuxedo appeared before the blond, dubiously inquiring as to his choice of beverage.

Naruto baulked at the listed prices. The menu was written in some cryptic short-hand which he had never seen before and half the drinks he could make out, the man was fairly certain had been made up. Who the heck had ever heard of a 'Missy-May'? Tentatively, he asked the well dressed gentleman before him if he carried anything on tap. Scornfully, the man strode away, reappearing moments later to set a tall, thin glass on the smooth granite in front of Naruto.

Thanking the gentleman, Naruto slid a twenty dollar bill across and watched it disappear mournfully. It was no wonder he'd never come to this place before; even the posh beer on tap was grossly overpriced.

Although, the blond smiled into his beverage, Sasuke had left another of his generous tips when he'd left. Naruto no longer wondered if the man could afford being so openhanded with his money, heck, the blond had donated towards his next tip. He was pretty sure that having one or two of these overpriced beers was not going to break his bank. In fact, he could have those two, take care of next month's rent/utilities and still have a little extra to put away besides.

The alcohol burned pleasantly down his throat as Naruto swallowed the gently foaming amber liquid. As he took another small sip (he planned on savoring the expensive drink) his eyes flicked up and the blond nearly choked.

He hadn't even noticed when he'd approached, so impressed had he been with the bar's sheer size and perchance a touch distracted by Sasuke's absence, that the back wall was not in fact a wall, but a large panel of glass. Behind the glass were largish cubicles or rooms sectioned off from one another. Each was lit separately, some dark and highlighted in shades of purple and blue, others light and bright and sterile. Some were sparsely furnished with couches and chairs, others carried nothing at all, but what drew ones attention to the rooms was not these things. It was the occupants.

Dancers had been stationed inside these small rooms as well; some alone, their bodies swaying and shifting to their own languid rhythm of self gratification, whilst others had been placed in pairs, playing at their own individualized game of sexuality.

What had taken Naruto by surprise was not the dancers themselves, or even that these room had been placed here. He'd smelled the undercurrent of arousal in this club after all.

The cubical across from where he sat was pure white, brightly lit and held within its geometric confines, a small white suede couch…and two men. He hadn't anticipated that.

They were both dressed to match the décor; pants which rode dangerously low and hugged chiseled butt and thighs. One wore a white button up shirt which was fully undone and hung in soft folds around his pale chest. This one's skin nearly blended with the primered walls surrounding him; if not for his black hair which he wore short, Naruto might've lost him completely.

As it was, he and his partner, a man with long, silky back hair, were performing…the blond didn't even know. Stylized sex was perhaps the closest he could come to describing their actions. They slithered along the room, across the walls and the couch, touching, caressing.

Hands slid across pale skin as they sprawled on the textured leather. The shirtless man lay under the other, his beautiful mane splayed to contrast sensuously against the colorless suede. The short-haired man had climbed up to straddle the man's hips, sliding his small hands along his partner's chest as his rolled his torso and hips languorously.

The man arched beneath him, slowly sliding pale fingers through his own silky tresses in a gesture of obvious enjoyment.

Naruto swallowed hard. _This was wrong, it was so very wrong on so many levels. He should not be watching two guys going at it, even if it was fake. It didn't matter how hard up for sex he was right now. Something like ten years, but that didn't matter._ But at the same time, he didn't want to look away.

Naruto forced his eyes back to his drink, toying with the idea of just leaving. He'd seen what he'd come to see and now there was really no reason for him to stay, unless it was the off chance that he would bump into his new friend while he was here. Which was not the reason he was here.

A thump came from inside the cubical. Naruto's eyes flicked reflexively up towards the noise.

They had changed positions. The short-haired man was being bent over and smashed up against the glass. Long midnight tresses hung around him like a curtain as their owner ground and thrust against the proffered backside. Long, slender fingers disappeared beneath the curtain of the man's shirt, stroking the supple skin and pinching pert nipples.

The one against the glass raised his head. His mouth was open and panting, his hot breath fogging the glass as the faintest trace of pink dusted the man's pale cheekbones. For an instant, their eyes locked; dark, lust filled eyes, half lidded in passion met Naruto's wide, innocent blues.

The man licked his lips…

Naruto bolted, leaving his drink unfinished in the bar top.

Muttering apologies, the blond threaded once more through the crowd, this time back the way he had come and unconcerned with anything but leaving this place.

The memory of what he had just witness was burned into his brain. Images of pale flesh sliding luxuriously against pale flesh, the look of pure bliss etched on the man's face, spurred him on as he pushed his way faster through the crowd.

"Hey!"

"Sorry!" Naruto turned his head for an instant, just to make eye contact with the woman he'd clipped and crashed headlong into a warm, unyielding body. He flailed, someone nearby cursed as their drink hit the floor and as the blond struggled to regain his footing, his shoes hit the wet patch of tile. The Uzumaki slipped, reflexively clutching at the only solid object near to him: the person he'd just crashed into. He was trying desperately to keep his footing on the slick flooring.

His tennis shoes found purchase at last. Naruto reached up to grab a shoulder, tan fingers knotting in the man's silk shirt. At this point he was very sure that it was a guy. Or if it was a girl, she had absolutely no chest whatsoever. The blond hoisted himself upright, prepared to give a quick and heart-felt apology to his 'savior'. But his face lifted and the disarming waiter smile he'd pasted on his face withered. He blinked once in disbelief, rubbed his eyes and peered at the man standing before him. But the image stayed true.

The man whom he had scrambled all over like a cheap set of monkey-bars was none other than Uchiha Sasuke.

Authors note: Not a ton is coming to mind right now. I pretty much spilled my guts up at the top.

Reveiws are always very appreciated.

Um...Should I SasuNaru in the next chapter? Because I have an idea, but I would like a yea or nay.

Until next time...


	9. Chapter9: A Series of Unfortunate Events

Chapter 9: A series of unfortunate events

The raven didn't wait for an apology. He strode past Naruto, calling just loudly enough to be heard over the intense background noise. "Take him up."

A pair of meaty hands landed on the blonds' shoulder and before he could so much as squawk in protest, Naruto was dragged away.

**.:xXXx:.**

Sasuke was not having a banner night. For several reasons.

Most currently pressing of his troubles, was the result of the blonds' wild squirming. The man whom Naruto had bumped whilst flailing about had spilled his drink. Some had landed on the floor, the other half, had found a home on the Uchiha's expensive black blazer.

He was tired, thirty more of his men had just gone missing; he now reeked of alcohol and he'd just been informed that his topmost informant had been killed.

Sasuke dared Satan himself to bring him one more piece of bad news.

The Uchiha wove through the small audience he and Naruto had drawn with all the skill and finesse of a choreographer. He needed to change his clothing, a necessity made decidedly easier by his forethought in keeping a few things in his office. An Uchiha was always prepared.

Or so Sasuke had thought, but nothing could've prepared him for the news.

The news had come while the Uchiha was on his way back from overseeing a drug drop. The drop had been huge: nearly four-hundred pounds of the stuff. This was a job that Boss Hebi had to supervise personally; a policy he had decided long ago would be in Hebi's best economic interests.

Suigetsu's cell-phone had chimed from his place in the passenger's side of Sasuke's crimson Cadillac. One of the many underlings the Uchiha employed was on the other end about a call he'd received from a mole. Another of the Uchiha's preset precautions: Sasuke never gave the informants his information, just in case they ever had a change of heart and tried to sell what they had to the authorities. He'd established a chain that eventually, after one waded through all the dime-a-dozen plebeians on the call list, led to his ears.

What the man, one of Sasuke's many informants within the local law enforcement chapter, had to say was...troubling.

Danzo was dead.

The Konoha Police Department's three story brick building had burst apart and collapsed; either incinerating or crushing everyone inside. Thankfully, the mole had just gotten off his rotation and was driving away when the structure had detonated behind him.

No one as of yet, knew what caused the explosion or who was responsible. Sasuke's witness had placed a hooker visiting the chief's private offices (which was according to his information, a common occurrence.) just before the bomb went off. Fingers were being pointed at the woman, but Sasuke wasn't so sure. He had built a reputation for never taking events at face value. It was another reason that he was still alive.

_Certainly, it seemed like the whore would have the appropriate motive. _Danzo had been misusing that rumpled woman for as long as the Hebi leader could remember, probably longer than that. _Who else might hate Danzo enough to kill him with the means to get close enough to do it? But by the same token, Danzo's secretary might've been the arsonist. And if it was the whore, why had she blown up the entire building, if all she wanted was one man? Why not poison him, or stab him while he was in the middle of one of his 'premature detonations'?_

_No, there was something bigger going on here. Someone else had set off that explosion. It wasn't the work of the commissioners' abused streetwalker. It was too big, too violent, too showy, too…_

_Much like something Akatsuki would do._

He came to his office, a large stone and iron door and slid inside; his mind going at warp speed.

_But if that gang had truly been responsible for the explosion, it begged the question: why? What did they hope to gain from the destruction of the Konoha Police Department? Anarchy? That seemed to be their method of operation, but were they well enough established for such an open show of militant force? Was the chaos worth the risk of exposing themselves so completely? Unless…_

Sasuke's fingers froze in the middle of unknotting his tie.

…Unless that wasn't that their goal in the first place. What if the explosion had been a cover, a large sort of sleight of hand? But then what were they trying to hide?

In a rare physical show of frustration, Sasuke flung his shirt onto a nearby chair. This was going nowhere. There was no way he could know what Akatsuki was doing unless he could somehow get inside their heads and he didn't trust all that metaphysical hock.

The raven paced over to a closet hidden neatly in the back wall. Pulling it open, Sasuke grabbed the closest shirt. Quickly he donned the clothing. He always made an effort to look good, but whenever he was in his club, there was a more distinct necessity. He had to create the proper impression of aloof control to all who knew him as Boss Hebi. As for those who called him Uchiha Sasuke the owner and manager of 'Sound', it was best he come across as nothing more than a beautiful man. And he knew he was beautiful.

That was not arrogance on the Uchiha's part; he knew what whispers circulated when those who surrounded him thought he wasn't listening. He heard the giggles and twitters; he had been hearing them for literally as long as he could remember. And the raven was not above utilizing his appearance for his own benefit. He mechanically began tucking the hem of his shirt into his pants and rethought his choice. He left the shirt-tails untucked, opting not to select a tie to replace the one he'd lost to a moron who couldn't hold his liquor, literally.

Dubiously, he flicked open the first and second buttons on his shirt to reveal a nice tease of moonlit skin stretched across the well defined plane of his chest. This was better; more suited for the sort of work he had planned for this evening.

He'd left Suigetsu outside, a decision he was more pleased with than he really ought to have been. The corner, which the bleach-blond claimed to know well, was a typical hangout for some of the brothels Hebi protected.

Sasuke hadn't commented then, nor did he find it peculiar when he'd watched his lieutenant walk back the way they had just come. Instead, the raven had simply sat and observed as Suigetsu turned a corner to stroll casually down the street and towards Karin's apartment complex.

Whether the two of his inner circle were meeting to have sex or to beat each other up; the Uchiha didn't particularly care. Just so long as they didn't kill one another, and it didn't affect their effectiveness, Sasuke would let them do whatever they wanted to or with each other.

So he had come to 'Sound' alone, never suspecting that his greeting would be a hurried blond nearly bowling him over in a mad attempt to gain the exit. In fact, the bowler was probably the last person he would have ever anticipated seeing at his club.

Uzumaki Naruto.

The name had rung a bell the first time he'd heard it at the café. After the Uchiha made some discreet inquiries, he'd found out why.

Everyone had heard the story of the young D.A. and his wife who were slaughtered the night their child was born. As it turned out, that child had been Naruto. Sasuke had also found out a little of the blonds' background, little details like: the man was less than a month away from his twenty-fourth birthday. He was one hundred and sixty-nine centimeters which was roughly five feet ten inches tall. He was naturally blond, a trait he had inherited from his father: Uzumaki Minato, the ill-fated District Attorney from going on twenty four years ago. His blues eyes were also a natural phenomenon as was his atypically dark skin. The six whisker-esc scars he wore on his cheeks, however, as Sasuke came to understand, were not natural.

The raven had seen the birth record and he had found no mention of the scars in it, a detail he was sure no doctor would have overlooked. But he'd carried them in the orphanage photo Sasuke had seen, at the age of six or there about. The only logical conclusion was that the marks had been bestowed upon the blond in the time between the two, but who and why?

Another mystery, but at least this mystery had a positive note to it unlike his befuddling Akatsuki conundrum.

Sasuke's precautious check of Uzumaki Naruto had revealed the blond to be nothing more than what he appeared to be: an average, hard-working, law-abiding citizen of Konoha. But the Uchiha wasn't bothered by the findings. He had to be careful about whom he let close to him. It was actually something of a relief that the blond was not a hired gun or assassin… _The man gave decent advice._

Sasuke took a deep breath through his nose; why try to deceive himself? It was futile and it wasn't as if there was anyone around to witness his mental admission.

He was in desperate need of a diversion at this particular juncture in his life. He felt as though events were progressing in a comportment far from his control and the Uchiha disliked that sensation very much. He needed to feel in control of something again. He needed to allow himself to pull back from these recent and baffling series of developments. Once he had that structure back, he could think, he could plausibly decipher the Akatsuki's reasoning and next move.

That was something he believed that he had found in the blond man.

The possibilities…

His linen button-up shirt was now a rich purple that made his pale skin glow. He'd left his soaked blazer with the cleaning staff and had also switched his pants, just to be on the safe side. The clean, cream-colored material was a nice change from the drab grey slacks he had been driving around in all day. The change was a good one.

With one final check to straighten the seams of his already flawlessly positioned clothing, the Uchiha strode out of his office and into the clubs pulsing darkness.

**.:xXXx:.**

To Naruto's surprise, he wasn't thrown out of the club on his ear with a stern warning to never set foot in 'Sound' again. He was instead dragged unceremoniously up a flight of stone steps which were made out of the same black glassy material as the rest of the structure. From what Naruto could see as he was hurriedly hauled up, they stairs had been literally fashioned from the wall, carved step by literal step up to the second level of 'Sound'.

He was going to pay for running into Sasuke, of that the blond had no doubt whatsoever. Visions of torment and painful restitutions played out in his mind as he continued to slip on the polished stonework.

What awaited him at the top of the stairs was another thing altogether. As he was pulled roughly by the collar of his jacket over the last step, Naruto began to gaze about in astonishment.

The second level was completely different from the club's lower levels.

It must've been reserved for exclusive clientele, or VIP's because there were only about fifty or so people milling around; all carried the air of the disgustingly and filthy rich.

It was a large rectangular platform suspended in midair over the ground floor by a dozen cables all as large as Naruto's fist. The floor was made of the same shining black stone as stairs and outside of the construct, but the diameter was maybe and eighth the overall size of the ground level. There was no railing along the edge of the platform that Naruto could distinguish, nothing between a single misstep and a good twenty foot drop to the shifting masses below. The only advantade Naruto could see to this safety hazard was that the lack of guard rail allowed for a clean, clear view of everything happening on the ground floor. The cages and catwalks were also plainly visible from half dozen booths which sat near the edges of the floating stone dais.

Naruto's eyes continued to rove around the 'room'. The man who had dragged him up was currently in the middle of a rather heated debate with a dude who looked like he'd been shooting steroids every day of his adult life. This was one argument which Naruto was content to stay out of.

Two small rises at the very far end framed a large semi-circular bench/couch hybrid. On these podiums, two more scantily clad strippers showed off their flexibility by wrapping themselves around the iron poles which protruded vertically from the stone. Mercifully, both were female.

To the blonds' surprise, not many of the guests on this level were paying anything more than a casual glance to the dancers as they wiggled and slid around their provided prop. Everyone here seemed to be more intent on whomever they were talking to at the moment. The very air was different here. Naruto sniffed. It lacked the desperate energy that permeated ground level. The atmosphere up in this place was all about business; the sexuality was still an undertone, but it was casual now that the Uzumaki felt his stomach starting to twist.

The two burly bouncers had finished arguing and had apparently decided that it was the steroid guy's turn to take charge of Naruto because as the first man stared back down the stairs he had just come up from, the second grabbed the blond.

Naruto was beginning to feel very much like he was a rag doll, being dragged about hither and thither, switching hands like a bad penny.

Before he could think to voice his protests to this newest of his 'captors' he was pushed down onto the same semi-circle leather booth he'd seen from across the locale and told in no uncertain terms that he was not to move.

Naruto glanced around, feeling his skin prickle with self-awareness as every eye turned to stare back at him. The blond shifted, uncomfortable on the plush leather and wondering if there was a way he could make it downstairs without getting nabbed again by Sasuke's security.

A hush settled over the fifty who were gathered and as suddenly as Naruto had felt their attention turn to him, heads rolled the other way. Curious, the Uzumaki followed the direction to their newest interest. Azure eyes caught a figure at the far end near the stairs he himself had ascended not so long ago, he leaned back in his seat, trying to merge himself with the material.

Uchiha Sasuke stood, the patterned white lights mounted above played across the jet black spikes and bangs, bringing out the silky sheen the man's hair naturally possessed. The blond knew exactly how the man's incredibly luxurious locks gleamed, he'd seen Sasuke twice in 'Leaf's' unfiltered light. He might've compared Sasuke's hair to the dancer he'd seen downstairs, but the difference was obvious. That actor grew his hair out because it was a part of his job, took care of it because it was something that made him look a certain part. That he took care of it was plain enough, but the Uchiha didn't seem to be doing it to play a part, or to show how well he could take care of himself. The man did it because he was Uchiha Sasuke; he was gorgeous, he was sexy, he was beautiful, and everyone knew it.

The raven began a measured walk towards him, his body fluidly gliding across the suddenly too short distance between them. As the man drew nearer, details began to leap out at Naruto. Details like: Sasuke had changed clothing.

Well he'd expected something like that; after all the Uchiha had gotten a drink spilled all over him. But the change…

His pants had gone from a dull grey to ebony, the black clinging sweetly to the man's powerful legs.

The blazer was gone as well as the pressed white shirt Sasuke had worn underneath. Both had been replaced by a crisp purple button-up.

Naruto hadn't really been a big fan of guys wearing feminine colors, he himself could pull off the color pink, but he stuck strictly to orange, blue and black. It was just something taboo in his mind, guys wore guy colors and girls wore girl colors. But the effect of purple on the raven was anything but feminine. The rich hue set Sasuke's pale skin off perfectly; pure luminescence, it made the man seem not so pale somehow, a smooth cream instead of driven snow.

The shirt was tailor made and fit Sasuke's lithe figure, firm slender chest, strong, slim arms…

The man was quite close, close enough for Naruto to notice that the two topmost buttons of his shirt had been left purposefully undone. The blonds' eyes wandered rebelliously down the small tease of flawlessly glowing skin; across the shadowed slash of Sasuke's collarbone, up the pure column of the man's throat. They traced along the faultless jaw, skimmed his regal nose until his met the man's…eyes…

Naruto felt his face heat and he wished once more to sink into the leather seat and disappear.

Sasuke, unaffected by the blonds' third subsequent and thorough cataloguing of his person, continued to move smoothly towards the bench.

He took a seat in the center of the couch, placing Naruto a few feet to his right.

The raven set an elbow on the furniture's back, allowing his fingers to casually slide against the smooth animal hide while he fluidly drew his leg up to cross over the other.

Silence reigned supreme, excepting the general public who had watched the Uchiha's ascent and went back to their interrupted conversations, for the two men seated on the bench.

Naruto tried, he honestly did, to melt through his seat and the platform. He was pretty sure that he could survive the drop and maybe, if he was lucky, he could recover from the jolt and get away without Sasuke doing whatever it was that he was going to do to him. And even if he didn't, Naruto had an uneasy feeling about the brunette.

He darted a glance at the as of yet silent man to his immediate left. His eyes caught the Uchiha's. The black eyes flashed in his mind, bringing another, very recently glimpsed set of black eyes.

_For an instant, their eyes locked; dark, lust filled eyes, half lidded in passion met Naruto's wide, innocent blues._

_The man licked his lips…_

Naruto jerked and snapped his head back away from the raven.

Yep, he'd rather risk the fall, definitely the fall.

**..XX..**

Sasuke wasn't sure when he'd been more entertained in his life. The Uzumaki was such…fun to toy with; his reactions were so honest, and open. It was amusing. He knew that his prolonged silence was wearing on his companion and the discomfort was showing.

But the man had been very on edge when he'd arrived. The Uchiha didn't chalk the entirety of the anxiety on Sasuke's rather abrupt method of transportation; he'd be a fool if he took everything at face value. Something had distressed this man even before Sasuke had gotten to 'Sound'. The man had been running out of the club just before their timely collusion, but what…or whom?

"Naruto,"

The blond visibly stiffened, his spine ram-rod straight. Tentitively, the man peered over his shoulder, a move Sasuke remembered from the first day he'd met Naruto. The man had been quite obviously hoping that he'd imagined the call, just like now. A hope which left those open azure eyes the instant they met Sasuke's direct gaze.

"Y-yeah?"

The raven didn't respond immediately. He allowed the question to hang in the heavy air, watching Naruto's every apparent emotion as they flit individually across the man's scarred visage. It was a technique he used with stubborn informants, the silence and the prodding of their own inner voices was typically enough to woo them into cooperation. The Uchiha excepted the same result here.

At last, it seemed that the blond had reached his limit. He sprung to his feet, pointing what might've looked like an accusatory finger, but what Sasuke was beginning to understand was actually a defensive gesture, in the Uchiha's direction and yelling.

"Look, I didn't mean to maul you, I didn't even spill that stupid drink on you. And you treat me like I'm some sort of criminal; not even giving me the chance to apologize before you sent your evil henchmen on me! You should at least give a guy half a chance to apologize properly before you do…" Naruto paused, undecided as to which of the awful tortures his mind had conjured the Uchiha would unleash upon him. "…whatever it is that you do to people that crash into you and accidently get other people to spill drinks on your nice cloths."

The image of the blond walking back to wherever it was he called home, stark naked flitted briefly though the raven's mind.

He ignored the errant impulse and said. "Sit, if I wanted you punished, you would not be in doubt of it."

That made Naruto shut up, took the preverbal wind right out of his sails. Curiosity became the dominant new emotion on his face.

"Then…" He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, like an animal taken by surprise, caught between fight and flight. "Then why am I here? What was the big idea of sending 'Dumb' and 'Dumber' to grab me if I'm free and clear?"

The Uchiha didn't miss the hint of suspicion in Naruto's voice or the caution in the man's open book face. This was not going to be simple, good. The Uchiha would've been disappointed if his blond guest were easily dominated. Fortunately, this looked to be a challenging battle of wills. Sasuke wasn't even sure if Naruto had even considered…men.

"What were you running from?"

The blond swallowed, visibly. And the minute interest he'd held became intrigue. He waited while the man in front of him seemed to gather himself to respond.

Naruto scuffed the toe of his tennis shoe against the floor, pulling at the sleeve of his jacket with one hand. Sasuke saw the wristwatch. Whatever the device said pleased the Uzumaki because the blonds' characteristic grin was back in place.

"Hey, I have work in the morning and it's actually a lot later than I thought I'd be out. I should be heading home." Naruto made as if to leave, but turned to add one last statement. "Come to 'Leaf' tomorrow and I'll make sure that your meal is on me to make up for running into you."

The Uchiha nodded, which was really more of a slight inclination of his head, watching as Naruto made his way gingerly through the crowd and down the stairs. Unreadable eyes stayed on the door long after the blond had left.

The Uzumaki's lack of response did not trouble him. He would've been surprised had the man given him any sort of hint. But the solution was simple enough to deduce.

Sasuke thought back to the accident. The blond had been coming roughly from the direction of the bar. Taking into account the dodging and weaving, given size of the mob tonight, the blond had been seated somewhere near the center.

The Uchiha flicked his gaze down to the lower level, scanning the wall of glass behind the bar. Two showrooms accounted for the ten or so middle seats. One held a lone woman, her long purple hair brushing back and forth against the white skin of her exposed shoulder blades. The barely-there dress she wore was a light shade of amethyst which matched her lengthy lavender tresses and her shy eyes. She strolled around the enclosure, brushing against the walls, lowering herself to the floor. She would stretch and arch her back, stretching in timid seduction, revealing her…flexibility.

The woman was not something to become frightened of Sasuke decided. Naruto was not that unexposed.

His gaze shifted to the second showroom and everything became very clear. Neji and Sai twisted around each other in a blatant display of lust and sexuality. It was completely fake, Sasuke knew the dancers he employed well enough to know that that pair in particular would never have touched the other if not for the sake of their generous and necessary paycheck. But there was no way that Naruto would know that. Such a scene might cause a reaction like the one Sasuke had seen in the blond, provided that the viewer had never seen any such displays in their life before.

It was plausible; more so than the alternative: that he'd been frightened away by a little girl.

Sasuke was becoming more and more certain that Naruto was, or had been, never shown these…unconventional enterprises. The implications of that fact added an entirely new dynamic to the situation, an unanticipated twist to overcome.

The Uchiha felt humor beginning to curl at the corners of his lips. Perhaps this unexpected exhibition was actually more to his advantage. The blond had seen what pleasure there was to be had in such avant-garde relationships, a delicate subject and one Sasuke was not particularity thrilled about broaching.

It was with mild apprehension that the raven realized he had not the desire the push Naruto; yet another twist to the ever changing puzzle.

But he could wait for the unpleasantness of the initial jolt to wear off before he pressed the blond any farther.

After all he was an Uchiha.

He could wait.

**.:xXXx:.**

_He was warm, so warm. The blood hummed in his veins, the rush and thrum of his heartbeat heavy in his chest. _

_The breath felt thick in his lungs. He exhaled and slowly drew in the fresh air through his inexplicably dry mouth, savoring each new flavor as it entered his body. The fragrance of new dust and old wood were all about him, mingling with a scent which niggled at the back of his mind. He wished he could remember, but whoever owned the sweet combination of clean sheets and rain eluded him. For a moment he felt as though it was at the very tip of his tongue and then it was gone, a fluttering of moths wings on the evening air._

_Something was happening to him, he wasn't sure what exactly, but that something was nice. The warmth which had prickled across his face spread across his skin and the blond gasped at the sensation of a silk paintbrush sliding across his bare chest. The pleasant glide disappeared, as though it had been frightened away by his sudden intake of breath. The blond moaned in displeasure, unconsciously reaching out for the source of the withdrawn strands of silk. It had seemed a paintbrush's bristles at first, but the feeling changed almost as he felt it, the whisper of soft hair as it was passed along his skin._

_His fingers met nothing but empty air. He whined, stretching further forward…farther…_

_There!_

_His fingers met with smooth skin. Carefully, his digits curled, tracing the delicate curvature of a jaw. His hand coasted upward, traveling the soft skin until it reached the soft line of lips. Gently, with the pad of his thumb, he traced the sweet curve, the slim pillow which lifted in the corners as he explored._

_A hand caught his wrist, slender fingers wrapping around in a grip which was tender, yet surprisingly strong. His fingers tingled as those same lips he'd moments ago investigated began to burn openmouthed kisses onto the pads of the five fingers and his callused palm._

_The blond writhed with sensation as that smooth mouth slid down his captured wrist and the tan skin of his forearm, down to the inside of his elbow. They placed luscious kisses where the blue veins were visible threading through the bronzed flesh, teasing at the hyper-responsive area that he wasn't even aware he possessed._

_The mouth continued their travels, frisking the blonds' tan shoulder, nipping at the collarbone, disappearing for an instant before a light lick at the hollow of his throat made the blond shiver._

_The smell was all around him, rain and clean sheets. He thought that no one could smell so incredible, It couldn't be humanly possible, but…_

_The fingers which had trapped his wrist released, finding a new place, gliding along his gently heaving abdomen. A single digit traced the swirl on his stomach, slowly circling in._

_He panted, it was so much. He didn't know how to process every one of the million signals battering his senses all at once. It was so beautiful, so warm and wonderful._

_He was being turned. And suddenly had was standing, bent over, his face pressed roughly up against a hard and unyielding surface. His hands scrabbled upon the walls smooth texture for a moment before they joined his cheek splayed and pressed into the cool plane._

_A hard heat was pressing into him from behind, the warmth from the body spreading slowly over the small of the blonds' back and up his chest. The hands were back, caressing the flat planes of his chest, tracing the indentation around tightly corded muscle. Two fingers played up a pectoral, the trimmed end of a nail skidding along skin and around the strangely sensitive nipple. A third finger joined in to hold the erect bud and lightly squeeze. The blond gasped and felt a foreign rush of pleasure pool downwards, to a place he had never paid much attention to._

_Wave after wave of the same new, heady sensation rippled around the blond. It seemed like they were connected to the body hunched over his own and pressing, oddly enough, into his backside. He wondered distantly through the haze of pleasure enshrouding his mind if he truly did feel a naked chest pressed against his back, a man's chest._

_Man's…_

_The same slender fingers slid under the waistband of his pants, grabbing hold of his very aware cock. They slid expertly along the blonds' engorged length, massaging the vein along its underside._

_Everything shifted into focus as if the blond had been travelling at light-speed and suddenly slammed on the brakes._

_The cool glass reflected the whiteness of the room behind him, fogging with every ragged breath he exhaled. He could see himself in the slight reflection, the half-lidded eyes, the open, panting mouth, the flushed cheeks. The body behind him was also visible, blurred and distorted, farther away, but the blond saw a head of luscious black hair._

_The fingers slipped off the head, toying fleetingly with the slit before gripping the blond fully once more._

_He cried out, instinct thrusting his hips through the confining grasp. The heat began to build and pool dangerously. He felt as though he was climbing higher, reaching for something just out of reach._

_His hips sped up, so did the strange grinding pressure against his arse. _

_The pressure in his cock rose to a crescendo._

"_Naruto…"_

_The image in the glass snapped into focus. It was the same well-kept spikes and raven wings framing the same perfect features, this time covered in a light sheen of sweat, his bangs plastered against his passion dampened brow. It was the same perfect lips, nose and eyes, but now shadowed in a frightening emotion._

_Naruto pressed back against the glass, looking out of the white room and into the club beyond, into his own horrified blue eyes._

"_Sasuke!"_

Naruto started awake, the familiar sights and smells of his apartment doing their part to calm him.

He was lying on his stomach in his bed where he'd laid down once he'd gotten home from 'Sound' a good hour after he planned.

He'd seen that stupid gay sex display and it had freaked him out, obviously more than he'd thought. Or…he'd thought it had freaked him out, but…

Naruto's hand wiggled down to his pajama pants. The Uzumaki winced when he felt the slide of fluid on his fingers.

_A wet dream? How…_

_Sasuke…_

The blond rolled out of bed and felt around on the mattress. Fortunately, the sheets hadn't gotten stained. Naruto thanked his lucky stars that he wouldn't have to take a trip down to the Laundromat tomorrow.

His soiled pajamas and underwear were shed and disposed of quickly, a new pair of both rapidy taking their place before the blond settled back into bed.

But sleep eluded him. Where once his mind had laid tile in black and white some had been pulled to slowly expose a frightening grey area within himself.

The morning found Uzumaki Naruto, the orphan, huddled under the insufficient protection of his blankets in much the same way he had spent his nights back then: frightened and alone.

**Author's note: Rate and longer reviews please. I thrive off encouragement.**

**TBC...**


	10. Chapter10: The Witness

Disclaimer: Could sue for it…but I hate paperwork.

Thank you reviewers: Fireotaku18, ovicati, kiki2222, Alecksander92, NaRu3kYbI

Chapter_10: The Witness

Night had long since fallen, enshrouding the two men who walked along Konoha's treacherous streets in thick blackness. The dark curtain was pulled back in places, the few sections where street lamps hadn't broken from lack of maintenance. But those patches of light were too few and far too far between. The deeper shadows in the alleys and doorframes contained the menace, the threat feared only by the weak, those who would succumb to the knives and bullets of those who lay in wait for the small amount of green paper they carried in their pockets.

But these two were not afraid of the dark or of the shadows. They were not men to be preyed upon by those menaces. In Konoha's unlit streets, like so many they had walked before, where violence were the right to rule; these men were kings.

They crossed the Naruto Bridge, making their way steadily to the derelict ruins South Konoha held in plenty. One building in particular, an ancient warehouse at the very edge of city limits was their chosen headquarters and their current destination.

A cell phones shrill cry broke through the placid calm of the evening.

One of the pair, a large man who wore a hood over his thick tangle of black hair and a metal mask over his stitched together face, moved to answer it. He reached inside his coat to a hidden pocket next to his heart; the red clouds dyed into the heavy black fabric bunched and morphed as his hand searched.

"Really, Kakuzu?" The other of the pair quipped haughtily. "You couldn't have put your phone on vibrate? You've ruined my terrifying image."

"Shut up Hidan," The man call Kakuzu flicked eternally bloodshot green eyes in the other man's direction. "Or I'll kill you."

Without another word to his counterpart, the hooded man opened his still shrilling device and placed it near his ear. "Yeah,"

Hidan heard the voice on the other end, it sounded like Kisame, say 'We got the name."

"Do you want us to take care of the annoyance?"

Whatever replay Kisame made was lost in a far off gunshot. But Kakuzu's reaction was all Hidan needed, to know that the man had been told 'no'.

"Fool," The hooded bounty hunter growled into the phone.

"I hope that you're not talking about me behind my back right in front of me." The man with silver and square, attractive features joked.

"Hidan," His partner's voice was a menacing growl. "Shut up…or I will kill you!"

"Hidan's smirk only grew as his companion's irritation rose. Getting a reaction from his permanently assigned partner was only too easy ever since Pain had put them both on the 'obvious squad'. For the last week or so, it was their job to be as out in the open as possible without drawing an unnecessary amount of attention from the local civil authority. That had meant 'no killing' and that was killing Kakuzu.

The silver-haired man chuckled at his personal joke while his partner finished with Kisame.

It was certainly enjoyable to so easily grind this man's nerves to dust, the man mused, his fingers toying idly with the simple chain on which his religion's large circular medallion hung. But the constant threat of death was less than delightful. Hidan was getting tired of having to watch his back twenty-four/seven to avoid getting destroyed by his on-edge partner. He had to figure out a way to sooth Kakuzu's fragile nerves.

"Hold it, both of you!"

The pair paused and turned to face the idiot who had just called out to them.

_Well, the man wasn't completely stupid,_ Hidan thought. _He'd brought some friends._ Humor flitted briefly across the man's brown eyes as he began to count…out loud.

"One…two…three…"

The ringleader, a tall, well-built man with brown spiky hair, smiled. "We've been ordered by our leader, Boss Hebi, to stop anyone wearing coats matching yours and bring them in for questioning."

Hidan continued his counting, unfazed by the man's posturing. "…ten…eleven…twelve…"

"Give yourselves up,"

"…fifteen…sixteen…"

"You have been warned this once."

"…eighteen…nineteen…twenty…"

"If you come with us peacefully, I will make sure that you are treated fairly."

The silver-haired man snorted and stopped somewhere around twenty five; there were more, but it didn't really didn't matter how many they had anyway. He wasn't afraid. In fact, he couldn't have been happier. This was just what the doctor ordered to cure Kakuzu's overwrought nerves. "Hey," Hidan called out to his partner. "Which half do you want?"

The hooded man snorted. "My hunger will be satisfied, that is all that matters. You will take so long to kill your first that I will have destroyed the rest by the time you come for more."

"Hey," Hebi's spokesman called. He had overheard and felt the beginnings of unease swimming around his stomach. This wasn't how people typically responded to his overwhelming show of force. "We're still here and you haven't given me your answer."

"Don't be so jealous," Hidan shook his head. "I can't help it if the guy that I serve desires perfect adherence to his rule and rituals?"

"Just hurry up if you want more than one." Was all the one with blood-shot eyes said as he started a slow walk towards the group of about thirty Hebi men.

"Yeah, yeah," Hidan chuckled as he shed his Akatsuki coat, baring his muscular torso to the night's biting chill. The luminescent silver lines of scars gleamed in the light of the full moon as they criss-crossed the man's chest and abdomen; too many to count.

The man drew out a knife, well worn but sharp. Achingly slow, he pushed the blade across the firm skin of his chest, the flesh parting and seeping dark liquid. When the cut had become the length of his forearm he stopped, pulling the red stained blade free from his torn flesh with a wet sucking sound.

The Hebi men watched in horrified fascination as something like shadows began to dance along the masochist's skin and suddenly it wasn't a man standing before them, but a skeleton, the terrifying maw twisting in pleasure.

"Run!" The ringleader had shouted a split second before the other was upon them. Those who were not cut down by the hooded man scattered, hoping that their comrades would serve as distraction enough for themselves to get away.

By then Hidan had joined in the massacre. Before the Hebi spokesman could do anything more than turn and cry out, he was knocked down, the cold pavement serving to cushion his fall.

His attacker was atop him in a split second, straddling his waist with strong thighs and pinning arms with the full force of his weight. The skeleton above him cackled, it was a horrid, demonic sound that echoed madly, mingling with the cries of the dying.

Hidan's arms spread wide, his head thrown back until the base of his skull pressed impossibly against his spine, the insane laughter somehow still barking from his parted lips.

"Lord of Murder…" The insane man called out to night and plunged his knife, still dripping with his own dark fluids, into his victims' throat. What scream of utter agony the man made never emerged…from his mouth. It came instead from the slit in his throat a harsh whistle, the blood bubbling around the blade buried in his esophagus. The knife continued to travel, slicing downwards to split the flesh all the way to the sternum, the blood of two men mingling in a ritual darker than sin.

The last sounded that the unfortunate gang member heard on this earth were the cries of his companions, the mad laughter of the 'man' who killed him and three words.

"…accept this sacrifice!"

It wasn't until later, after Kakuzu had reluctantly sewn up his latest self-inflicted wound in the name of ritual and they were once more walking, that Hidan remembered the small gasp, horrified brown eyes peering out from behind a garbage can and the click of a camera phone.

サスケ

_He didn't come today…_

Naruto's finger's fumbled slightly on the key he held between his pointer and thumb.

It was his turn to lock up the café. Actually it was Shikamaru's turn, but no one had seen the Nara since last night.

Kiba had offered to stay and help him with the last few checks he had to do, but Naruto had politely declined. His canine loving friend had wanted to get home since he'd **gotten to work that morning** and Naruto couldn't blame him, not with a woman like Hinata waiting for him. So here the blond was, alone at eleven o'clock at night with nothing to occupy his mind but the previous nights events.

He'd spent the entire day trying not to think about last night or his subsequent wet dream. But he'd caught himself replaying the scene with the two men in the room over and over in his head. And he had to wonder…_It had appeared that they were enjoying themselves, but that was what they were paid to do. Could doing something like…with another guy…would…__could__ it really feel good? And how the heck could two guys even...'do it'?_ He couldn't honestly come up with an answer, and anyway, every time he'd started along that particular train of thought, Kiba or Ino or Sakura would always ask if he was coming down with a fever since he was so flushed. So he just gave up, making a mental note to Google it later, when he'd built up his courage again.

All that was currently bothering him about the whole series of events now was his wet dream and the fact that his subconscious had chosen Uchiha Sasuke to be his paramour.

So far, the only explanation he'd been about to come up with was his pent up sexual frustration. It had been, what, eight years since his first and only sexual encounter. The girl had been sweet, bright red hair and a quiet personality. She'd reminded him of the pictures he'd seen of his mother growing up. Naruto had even fancied himself in love. They had both lost their innocence one warm summer night on a grassy hill lit by the stars. One month later she had moved away with her parents when her father transferred to Rain. He had tried to stay in contact, but when it became very obvious that she had gotten over him and had no intention of waiting for him, a heart-broken Naruto finally stopped calling.

Since that one failed romance, there had been on one else. At first the blond had made the excuse that he was happy the way his life was and he hadn't wanted to complicate things by adding a demanding girlfriend. But as the years dragged by, he began to see a little into himself. He'd loved that girl, as much as any sixteen year-old boy could love anyone. He'd entrusted her with the fragile pieces of his heart. And now that Naruto had gotten them glued back together, he wasn't sure if he wanted to have them shattered again.

The blond took a deep breath and exhaled, watching the expelled air twist and disappear as it cooled. There was no denying that the Uchiha was probably the most incredibly good looking man he had ever met. Everything about him; the way he walked, barely talked, dressed. The man knew how gorgeous he was and also knew how to show it off to his best advantage. There was no real mystery as to why his mind had picked him for its pleasure, he was stunning.

The blond shivered, shaking his head. This was exactly the sort of thinking he'd been trying to avoid all day. He didn't want to think about this guy at all. He needed to think about something else…anything else.

He refocused on the AWOL bartender instead. Naruto was a little worried about the brunette. Usually if Shikamaru was sick or not coming in to work he would call ahead. To skip without telling anyone for no reason at all was just out of character for the brunette.

Naruto continued to stew as he dug into his pocket for his cell phone, selecting one of the few contacts he had stored in it. As it rang for Shikamaru, the blond finished locking up the café and began to make his way home.

The answering machine picked up after two rings; either the Nara forgot to charge his cell, or he was in a area without coverage. The calm voice on the other end encouraged him to leave a message, but warned that the call probably wouldn't be returned unless the caller was Tsunade or the President.

"Hey, man it's me. Listen we're all kind of worried about you. Call me back you lazy bum so I can get some sleep tonight. I had to stay late and lock up for you. This is the last time that I'm covering for your slug-butt. See you tomorrow."

He flicked the phone shut, but Naruto still couldn't shake the uneasiness roaming around in the back of his mind. He simply couldn't help but fell that something was wrong.

In that moment, the blond made up his mind to stop by Shikamaru's place. The Uaumaki spun on his heel and began to bustle in the opposite direction. He hurried down the dim streets, spurred on by the growing chill and the thought of finding his friend safe and sound. It would be worth getting called an idiot by the Nara once he got there, just so long as he found the brunette lounging around his apartment.

Naruto laughed. It was a lame attempt to reassure himself, and hitched as he shivered, but the tactic worked a little at least. He wasn't as worried now. Only apprehension swirled around his brain.

_At least he had something to distract himself from errant, awkward thoughts of Sasuke…_

He rushed around a corner and glanced up just in time to gasp out as he collided with a man coming from the other direction.

Reflexively, the blond fisted both hands into the material of the man's coat, bunching it at the shoulders while he fought not to overcompensate for the sudden stop by pulling both he and the other man over. His chest pressed against the stranger's, so tightly that he could feel the heat coming through the thick jacket and the firm, lean muscles under the coat.

Naruto glanced up and cursed his reflexes. _He'd grabbed onto Uchiha Sasuke...again!_

The blond pushed back, still muttering expletives as he quickly too two steps away from the Uchiha. He wondered if it was too late to turn and run the other way, or if the escape was worth offending the powerful man since they had quite obviously seen each other.

Visions of Sasuke ordering his henchmen to drag Naruto back and demanding an explanation in his oh, so calm and collected tone of authority ran through the blonds' brain. Before he could make a decision either way, Sasuke made the choice for him.

"Naruto,"

_Crap, it was too late now._ "Hey," The blonds' hard swallow was visible even in the distorted half-light cast by the barely functioning street lamps. His hand drifted upward and began to rub the back of his neck, a nervous habit which Sasuke recognized from the night before. "What a coincidence, meeting you here on this street all by yourself in the middle of the night…" Naruto winced when he realized just how stalker-ish that sentence sounded. "I-I mean…" He tried again. "…you're here and I'm here…" _This wasn't going well._

Sasuke surprisingly enough came to his rescue. "I took the night off."

The blond suddenly registered his outfit. The raven was not clad in his typical stylish and sexy clothing; he wore a black and silver Columbia jacket over dark blue jeans and a black leather loafer-type shoe that Naruto had never seen before. Although that wasn't all that surprising he'd never seen the shoe, he wasn't exactly known for his styling outfits.

It was weird to see the Uchiha not dressed in something that walked off a runway. In the clothing he wore right now, the man almost looked…normal; drop-dead gorgeous and frighteningly sexy, but more normal than Naruto had ever seen him before. He found that he liked the change, not that he didn't like the clothing that Sasuke normally wore, but the casual look made him seem more approachable. Not that he was looking…

Naruto cleared his throat and forced his thoughts off that uncomfortable track.

"A day off huh?" He grinned wryly. "Yeah, I'm sure that you're very stressed because off all that 'work' you do sitting around and watching everybody in your club. It must be really stressful, rubbing elbows with all those high-class clients. What a pain."

As soon as the words left his mouth Naruto regretted them. Sasuke said nothing as he walked past him and on down the street, but the air around the Uchiha crackled with a very frightening aura. Guilt overcame the defensive sarcasm and Naruto reached out to grab Sasuke's arm.

The raven's head whipped around, his face never changing, but the look in his eyes was…murderous. Naruto almost let go of Sasuke's arm, almost. But for some reason the idea of watching Sasuke walk away mad at him unsettled the blond. He wanted to clear the air between them, he couldn't explain why.

"Don't get mad, please," The Uzumaki blurted. "I was being a jerk. I'm sure that it's a bunch of pressure and hard work and all that. I totally couldn't do that. I can barely handle all the weird crap in my life; I think that if I had to run a business with all that financial stuff on top of everything that's happening now, I'd go insane."

He'd loosened he grip on the raven's arm, allowing Sasuke to take back his trapped limb. The man did, but made no other move to continue his walk away from Naruto. The blond wondered at the relief the man's inaction triggered within himself.

"What's been happening to you?"

"Huh?" Naruto blinked and stared dumbly into the Uchiha's direct gaze. The question clicked and suddenly he was searching for an escape route again. _Sasuke wanted to know what kind of things were causing him stress at the moment… Well, there was the pressure of working something like sixty hours a week, there was that stupid incident with the gay dance partners and the really hot wet dream afterwards. There was this odd fascination Naruto was beginning to develop with the man standing directly in front of him. There was all the Akatsuki crap going on and trying to take them down as Kyuubi, a role he hadn't even been able to assume for days._ These weren't exactly topics which one would discuss over coffee.

"Well…" The blond stammered and remembered the reason he had been heading in this direction in the first place. He spat out the excuse and hoped upon hope that the Uchiha would swallow it. It was true after all, just not the whole truth. "A co-worker of mine is missing and I'm pretty worried about him."

Thankfully, Sasuke's curiosity seemed pacified. "Missing,"

"Yeah," Naruto heaved an internal sigh of relief. "Nobody's seen him since last night and he didn't show up to work without any advance notice which is totally like him. So I was on my way over to his house right now to see if he'd okay."

"Where does this co-worker of yours live?"

"Shikamaru?" Naruto glanced over his shoulder and pointed off down the dark street. "He rents an apartment a few more blocks that way. I think that he said the complex was owned by a friend's cousin or something like that." The blond wasn't sure why Sasuke needed to know that detail, or why he was rambling, but his mouth continued to work. "Anyway, you'd know it if you saw it. It's tall and made of brick and it's a little run down, but…why are you laughing? What's so funny you jerk?"

The Uchiha's 'laugh' had consisted of a single "Che…" and the slightest lift to the corners of his mouth. But the blonds' reaction was understandable; it was probably the most he had ever seen Sasuke smile. It was the most the raven had ever let anyone see him smile.

"You've just described half the buildings in this city."

Naruto's temper flared, igniting a brashness which Iruka had warned him about. He tended to make poor choices when he was angry, more impulsive and less rational than normal. This time was certainly no exception.

Before he could rethink the impulse, the man had taken up the Uchiha's wrist again and was hauling Sasuke down the street. He ignored the heat seeping down his neck and muttered bad-temperedly.

"Fine, I'll show you, you jerk."

.:XX:.

It was exactly as Naruto had described. The building had been originally constructed using brick, which looked to have been close to fifty years ago by Sasuke's estimation.

Several large patches of the crumbling red brick had been filled in or replaced completely with cement. The effect was almost comical; the clash of light grey and russet brick forming a haphazard patchwork which looked something like the blotchy completion of an adolescent.

The alley had indeed contained several mainly black fire escapes; though these too were well aged. The rust on many showed through the poor attempt to repaint them.

Unfortuantely, this sad apartment complex blended in quite well with the buildings around it, a gloomy testament to the economic distress Konoha was feeling right now.

"See," Naruto's triumphant grin was plainly visible even from where he stood five feet away. He had long since released Sauke's arm when he had been thoroughly convinced that the Uchiha wouldn't run away. It hadn't taken much effort on the raven's end, a simple: "Let go of my arm moron." A few minutes later they had arrived at the place, the blond happily shoving his hands into his pocket.

"I told you."

"Do you plan on staring at it all night?" Sasuke redirected sardonically, a tone he was not in a habit of using in the company of those whom he did not know well. But the question was already posed, thus it did little good to rehash such trivialities.

The blonds' body language changed immediately from 'exhalant' to 'nervous'. He kicked at a crack in the sidewalk with the toe of his tennis show and mumbled. "You might as well come too."

Before the Uchiha could open his mouth, Naruto was rushing to explain. "You're already come this far, it wouldn't be fair for you nit to find out."

Sasuke chose not to point out that since he had no connection to this 'Shikamaru' person, it really wasn't all that critical to him to find out whether the man was all right or not. To bring things like that to Naruto's attention would also drag out other tid-bits, such as: the raven wasn't a typical part of his life. So pointing it out would've made the blond feel awkward around him again.

They walked in. Sasuke grit his teeth as the door squealed slowly open and shut behind them.

The inside was even more decrepit then the outside, if that were possible. The carpet, what little hadn't been worn away from years of tenants shoes scraping over it, was dirty and cement grey. The three fluorescent lights which still functioned at all, flickered, casting a barrage of shadows dancing across the ancient living room set pushed carelessly against one paneled wall.

Sasuke couldn't believe that someone would willingly live in such a place. If this was a form of capital punishment, a place of exile, he might not have wondered why Naruto's friend would subjugate himself to such sub-standard living conditions. But it was not; to the Uchiha was wondering not simply about the former, but why the man would pay for the privilege. Surely there were better accommodations to be found in Konoha even in this hard time.

The blond led him past the elevator. A crudely written, age wrinkled paper sign stuck to the stained aluminum doors declared that the machine was 'temporarily out of order'. Sasuke wondered how long temporary lasted in a place like this.

They headed up a set of stairs near the back which was in the same condition as the fire escapes outside. Rust showed prominently through the black paint and the steps groaned in protest when the combined weight of both men began to climb up. _This was ridiculous_.

After what seemed an eternity, they finally reached the fifth floor. Naruto stopped led the way through another badly squeaking door to the long, unlit hallway beyond.

"This way." The blond started off into the blackness with the boldness of someone who could see perfectly. The Uchiha kept up, though he trailed his fingertips along the rough wall as he went. He had no desire to crash into anything and appear the fool.

They stopped in front of the last door on that hall. "Here it is." The Uzumaki tapped his knuckles sharply against the coarse wood, calling his friend's name quietly. Sasuke was glad at least that Naruto had the presence of mind to consider the rooms around them were more than likely filled with sleeping tenants.

The blond received no response.

Frowning, he rapped again, this time a little louder. "Hey, Shikamaru, it's me, Naruto. Hurry up and let me in."

Once more the door stayed firmly in place. No sound emerged from inside.

Sasuke's eyes had adjusted to the dim light. He watched as the blonds' hand curled into a fist. The man drew back his arm, ready to pummel the door with a series of hammering blows which would more than likely wake every person on this floor who wasn't already awake.

He grabbed Naruto's wrist a fraction of an inch from the door, glaring at the blond miscreant.

"Idiot."

The raven let go and knelt, pulling out a small metal case no bigger than a deck of cards from inside of his coat. Sasuke opened it and delicately selected a thin something from inside, lifting it out and away pinioned between a thumb and index finger before bending over the lock.

Naruto was about to ask what exactly the Uchiha was doing when he heard a soft 'click' and the door swung inwards.

"Yes!" The blond fist-pumped and pulled Sasuke inside the apartment, kicking the door shut as they came through. His excitement drained away as his gaze travelled around the small room.

The place had been trashed. Furniture had been overturned, all two pieces besides the bed. The mattress lay half off the wire bed frame; springs stuck out from gigantic slashes in the material. Pillows had been torn open and feathers littered the floor. Books and what few knick-knacks Shikamaru processed had been thrown about, either smashed or shredded.

The wallpaper had been torn away in some places, the mulch green hanging down in loose folds. At first glance, that destruction blended in with the chaos around it. But a second inspection revealed the reason behind the madness. Where the wallpaper had been torn away formed letters on the unpainted wall behind. "Fear the Akatsuki…"

The curse that escaped his lips was weak and faint as Naruto's legs gave out. He fell to his knees in the middle of the apartment floor, feathers flying up on the sudden cushion of air. Realization and despair and despair gripped his chest as he stared down at the pile of resettling feathers between his knees.

"I knew it…" He whispered. "I knew something was wrong." Moisture gathered at the corner of his eyes, but Naruto was too dazed to care.

"Why would someone do this?" The Uzumaki managed between gulps of air. "Who would do something like this to Shikamaru?" Wild assumptions began soaring about is shock numbed mind.

_This was his fault, he was sure. Somehow the Akatsuki had found out that he was Kyuubi and they were punishing him. They were going after his friends; this was all because of him…_

"Naruto," Sasuke's voice seemed to be coming from far away.

His vision blurred, but this time it wasn't the tears. Black threaded along the edges of his world, fatigue weighed down his limbs, making it impossible for the blond to move. He tipped backwards, slowly collapsing into the wrecked floor as unconsciousness wrapped its welcoming arms around him.

ナルト

He was safe. He wasn't sure exactly where he was, somewhere on the southern end of the Naruto Bridge, but he was still alive. For the moment at least.

The brunette hadn't stopped cursing his stupid out-of-character moment since he'd made it the night before; although, at the time, it had seemed like the friendly thing to do. Now he was on the run, hiding for his life and wondering how his safe and sound mentality had gotten him into such a predicament.

_Oh, yeah, it hadn't…_

He'd gotten tired of Ino and Sakura quickly after Naruto had left. The prospect heading alone to his poor excuse for a living space was as unappealing as staying and listening to the two slightly drunk women writing odes to this Uchiha Sasuke's unerring beauty. He'd supposed that heading to 'Sound' after his foolish blond friend was probably as good an option as the other two. Naruto hadn't said that he was heading to the Uchiha owned club, but Shikamaru was no simpleton. It was so painfully obvious where the blond was going that it was almost sad.

He'd planned on catching up with the man on the way, being a sort of moral support and having a few more drinks before he went home.

Fate, however, had not been so kind.

He was almost over the bridge before it happened. There had been thirty of them, they had appeared before Shikamaru had time to do anything but hide behind the nearest available cover: an overflowing garbage dumpster. It was there he had had watched events unfold; the calling out and the slaughter which followed. He hadn't even realized that he'd taken his phone out until he'd snapped the first blurry picture. He'd taken twenty or so of the grainy photos by the time the two men had left in pursuit of the few who had escaped their initial assault.

Hands numb and trembling, the brunette had crept from his hiding place and quickly snapped a few images of the bodies.

He'd figured on turning the pictures in to the police that night. But when he'd arrive half an hour later, sweating and chest heaving from his frantically paced sprint, nothing had remained of the station but a smoldering mass of concrete and disembodied limbs. After that, Shikamaru hadn't know what to do. He'd been banking on giving the information to the only honest cop he knew: Sarutobi Asuma. Now, the brunette didn't even know if his friend was alive anymore. He would've called Kurenai, but his phone had died on the way to his apartment.

Shikamaru's finger's tightened around the dead device in his pocket. The data stored on his memory card was enough evidence to condemn both men he'd seen last night to prison at the very least. And he had a feeling that they knew what he had and the implications of those images. They weren't going to let him get away.

They had discovered him somehow. They'd figured out that he was there during the killing. He wasn't sure how, or how they'd found out where his apartment was located, but they had.

The only thing that saved him was his impulse to look into his room's window. He'd seen them inside, literally tearing through his room. The hooded one had spotted him and crashed through his window, not wasting time opening the dirty glass. Shikamaru had heard the crash of a heavy body impacting against the rusty metal of the fire escape. He'd started running then and he hadn't stopped until exhaustion forced him to take shelter in a building nearby.

He was somewhere in the South end of Konoha in one of the many derelict constructs which dotted the neglected area. He knew that he couldn't hope to hide forever. But he had nowhere to go. He wasn't even sure who he could trust.

He had to think the situation through.

The brunette took a deep breath to steady his pounding head and racing heart. His veins still thrummed with heavily pumping blood, his hands shook with unspent adrenaline. He leaned against the nearest wall, sinking slowly to rest on the dust covered ground. The next breath came easier, calming him and clearing his head.

Asuma had always that he had a good head on his shoulders. He needed to stop reacting and start using his intellect.

Shikamaru thought that he remembered Naruto saying something to him about his foster father dating a detective. The blond had also mentioned that the guy…Kakashi something or other, was working on a case to bring down the gangs, but lacked solid evidence to link the crimes to the organizations. Shikamaru knew enough about Naruto to know that he could hardly approve of the man if he was crooked which meant that he might help the Nara, provided Shikamaru could find him in the first place. That seemed to be the problem which needed solving because the brunette had no idea where this Kakashi lived, or even where Iruka stayed for that matter.

But he had been to Naruto's plenty. Ideas started swirling, forming and reforming as his mind worked hastily. Naruto would know where Iruka lived at the very least.

It was decided then. The Nara would get to Narutos', ask him for directions to Iruka's home and then get the information to the man's cop boyfriend. It was simple enough, but one he hoped could be completed before he was found and sacrificed to whatever messed up deity the silver-haired man served.

Shikamaru was about to stand up when he heard a familiar voice just outside the wall at his back. Fear pooled in his gut and he could feel his pulse starting to speed up again.

"Man, this is so annoying Kakuzu. Where else could he have gone off to? This is pointless; we must've searched half the city. This is such a pain."

"Shut up," Shikamaru's eyes widened and his blood ran cold. They were both still on his trail. They were close and they were getting angry. "…or I'll kill you!"

"Oh, come on, don't be so tense." The brunette heard the Satanist say. "I know you're just as tired as I am. Why don't we take a break for a little bit? I'll even let you kill the guy when we find him."

Shikamaru strained to hear the other's response through the pounding of blood in his ears.

"Yeah…"

The Nara's relief was short lived.

"…but let's check this one building out and then we can take a break."


	11. Chapter11: Coffee and Confessions

Chapter_11:

It was the smell of coffee that came to him first; rich warm and with a distinctive undertone of Hungarian spice. It wrapped around Naruto's brain like a great big fleece throw, enfolding him in happiness. The second sensation to register was softness supporting his body. It confused him. His sagging second-hand mattress had always contained one too many lumps to be considered very comfortable. Whatever it was he was lying on at the moment was incredibly soft, cushioned by clouds and had to have been stuffed with angel's feathers.

The third sensation to penetrate his unconscious mind was heavy bedding swaddling his bare chest. He snuggled deeper, seeking the lovely blanket of sleep, but his mind continued to surface from the deep pool of sleep, registering more details as consciousness casually took over.

Naruto lifted his lids slowly. He saw nothing but shadows at first, the room decorated in deep grey for all his sleep bleared azure eyes could discern. They adjusted slowly as he blinked and swiped at the corners. Finally Kyuubi kicked in and the room brightened perceptibly. Naruto yawned as his eyes began to quest around the dimly lit room.

It wasn't his bedroom, which confused the blond at first. In fact, this place bore no resemblance to his dirty, too small rat's nest.

The room was clean for one thing and neatly organized, two adjectives never associated with the chaotic cesspool he'd come to call home.

The walls were painted a deep burgundy to compliment the lush navy blue carpeting and the polished mahogany furnishings which gave the place a sophisticated sheen. A short hardwood night-side stand made of the expensive material stood at Naruto's back. On it perched some sort of clock/radio, the white glow from its digital face was the only light in the room. The blond didn't bother checking the time. He would have to get up if he did that and he was still so tired. The blond glanced to the window, covered by heavy curtains. Through a slit in the heavy fabric, Naruto could see the barest hint of pink and orange and yellow. The sunrise would be beautiful, mainly because it told him what he wanted to know. He figured it was still early enough that he could roll over one more time, skip the shower, and still make it in time to open the café on time. A win-win.

He rotated lazily from shoulder to stomach, burying his face into the pillow nearest to him, the one which had strangely enough remained untouched during the night. The unexpected smell of Uchiha Sasuke filled his senses, enveloping every node in his brain with a delicious haze. He nestled deeper, his semi-conscious brain taking in as much of that incredible smell as it could with each deep breath he took.

Something clicked and Naruto sat bolt upright, his body instantly awake. Everything swirled into focus: him running into Sasuke on the way to Shikamaru's, getting irked and forcing the raven to come along, Shikamaru's apartment, the message that had been literally torn into the wall; the overwhelming sense of responsibility, the absolute shock, losing consciousness…

"Merde!" He flung back the thick blue covers and had made it half-way to the door before realizing that he was dressed in nothing but his old orange boxers, the ugly ones with the red spirals. He'd been promising to throw them away for years now, but had never quite gotten around to it. In hindsight, Naruto kind of wished that he had, not that he really was concerned about the Uchiha; _the man's retinas could explode for all he cared_. But the idea that Sasuke had seen him all but naked was…odd. And he refused to walk around, unless it was in his own home, with nothing but boxers on; it just wasn't right.

Thus a frantic search for his clothing began; which was how 'the Uchiha' found him a few minutes later: tearing frantically through his bedroom, clad in nothing but a pair of ugly underwear.

Sasuke toyed briefly with the idea of letting the blond discover him on his own, because the man hadn't noticed when he'd opened the door and walked inside. But as soon as the idea had occurred to him, it was rejected. His ultimate goal, (for now and as far as it concerned the blond man) was to make Naruto more comfortable around him. So in the grand scheme of things, it would be more damaging for the blond to feel as though he were being watched and stalked.

"Your clothes are on the night-side stand, next to the alarm."

Naruto jumped and peered up from where he had knelt to look under the bed. His eyes darted to the neatly folded pile of jeans and T-shirt. They were exactly where the raven had said, in their laughably obvious locale next to the digital alarm he'd ignored from the get-go.

The blond turned back to tell the raven that he'd known where the clothing was all along, he'd just dropped something, but the doorway was already empty.

Muttering insults under his breath, Naruto quickly donned his cloths, which he noted, had been washed and padded quietly out of the bedroom.

The ever persistent smell of coffee drew him down a large and very long hallway.

For a moment Naruto wondered if the hall would ever end or if he were trapped in some sort of dream state where he'd keep walking forever and ever. But the moment padded and the blond found himself in a wide and rather Spartan living room.

The carpet was short and so white that it practically gleamed. The walls were smooth and untextured, but themed bright red and black to match all but the largest piece of furniture: a black iron framed giant with white upholstery.

A set of six Uchiwa paper fans hung on the wall closest to Naruto, juxtaposed to the massive iron inset gas fireplace on the other.

The blond slowly approached the large mantle. It reminded him sort of, of the small brick one he'd had at Iruka's. He had enjoyed many a late night mug of warmth with his foster father, soaking up both the heat and love while they talked about each other's day.

The fireplace was unlit, but it mattered little since the room was very pleasantly heated. Still, something was missing. The answer crashed down on him like a ton of bricks. What this hearth and mantle lacked more than a fire…were pictures.

Iruka had put pictures up any and everywhere he could. Naruto had tried to convince him that he didn't want his face tacked up in the bathroom, but he had failed to dissuade his proud foster father. To the blonds recollection, there had never been a time when the small brick mantel hadn't been overflowing with candid snapshots of Naruto. Naruto at a basketball game; Naruto and his first car; Naruto getting his high school diploma; Naruto and Iruka standing at the top of some windy tower; Naruto on his first date; Naruto… Maybe it had been Iruka's way of trying to make up for all those lost years in the blonds life, the years when he'd had no one to take pictures.

Naruto realized with a start that he hadn't seen a single photograph or even a family photo album. Even when he'd been walking the long hallway, only paintings and still lifes hand adorned the never-ending wall space between unlabeled doors.

_What sort of man was this Uchiha Sasuke? A man with no family? No friends? Was this raven haired man who radiated confidence and poise; who ran a successful business and left three hundred dollar tips, just as alone as Naruto himself…?_

Flashes of memory began to flicker to the surface, little snippets, moments that the blond hadn't even realized that he'd captured until now. Every time he'd seen Sasuke, at 'Leaf', at 'Sound', taking a walk down the street, the man had been by himself. There had never once been a companion, or a friend, or a family member, not a single time, never.

Pity swelled inside Naruto. On a strange impulse, the Uzumaki ran a hand over the empty shelf above the fireplace. His fingers came away clean, although he wasn't shocked by this. It was another indication of how sterile and empty it was; a testament to how lonely and barren the rest of this place was too. There was no warmth, no light, no real indication that anyone really lived here at all.

"What are you doing?"

Naruto, to his utter humiliation, eeped.

It wasn't a sound that he commonly made, nor would he ever in his life admit that his 'manly' vocal cords were capable of emitting such an adolescent squeak.

Unfortunately, that denial did little in the way of banishing the unfortunate habit. It would emerge at the most inconvenient times, when it was the most awkward or embarrassing…like now.

The blond turned, ignoring the ever-so slight arch to the raven's eyebrow, or the subtle upturn to one corner of Sasuke's delicate lips.

He coughed, trying to disguise the weird chirp from a moment ago as a sneeze or something less bizarre. It was fake and both men knew it, but Naruto pressed on, masking embarrassment with his quick-button anger.

"Don't sneak up on a person like that!" He pointed a finger at the raven. "I might've killed you, you jerk!"

Actually, the Uzumaki was amazed that he hadn't heard the other man's approach, even on the soft carpet. His hearing was good enough for that. At the very least he ought to have smelled Sasuke before he'd gotten so close. The man's scent was so thick around him now that it was nearly tangible. But at the same time, it wasn't overbearing. Sometimes having super smelling sucked, especially on really busy days. Sometimes the smells would get so solid that he'd have to breathe through his mouth just to keep himself from getting high off of the over applied perfumes and colognes around him. Compared to normal people, _Naruto wondered when he had started to think about the raven as on a completely different level than everyone else_, the man's scent was subtle, almost delightfully so.

Sasuke's smirk had disappeared, and he had chosen not to mention the unmanly noise. The Uchiha instead made the same sound that he seemed to every time Naruto got feisty. It was a sort of snort, but it came out of his mouth; it sounded something like "che" and the blond wondered if it meant that Sasuke was actually annoyed.

The raven stretched out his arm, holding out the steaming coffee mug he held in his hand out to Naruto. The strong odor of coffee rose with the thick steam, tantalizing the blond with its heavenly potency, reminding him that he really didn't hate Sasuke all that much. It had been ages since he'd had coffee, (it had been ages since he could afford coffee) and the familiar scent of that glorious caffeine beckoned. All of the blonds' ire faded, replaced quite completely with desire…for the mug in the Uchiha's hand.

"Thanks," Naruto muttered. He reached out and lifted the mug away from Sasuke, grabbing it by the lip with the very tips of his fingers. The last thing he wanted to do right now was make things awkward by random skin contact, so he avoided the possibility altogether.

If the raven was disappointed by this; he made no indication. Once the porcelain cup was safely in Naruto's hands he backed a respectful step away, giving the blond the breathing room he hadn't realized that he'd wanted until it had been given.

"What were you doing?" Sasuke repeated; his voice was low and without a trace of curiosity beyond the asking itself.

"Planting explosives," The jest was second-nature to Naruto, a defense mechanism he'd developed over the years just to get people off his back. It wasn't that the Uchiha's inquiry was such a prying one or anything like that, but the blond was on the defensive again somehow and that really ticked him off.

But at the same time he knew, as soon as he said it aloud, as soon as the raven acknowledged what his mind already pieced together; as soon as he admitted that he felt sorry for the other man, things would start falling apart. His life would crumble. All of the lines and the boundaries he'd set up for himself which were already beginning to erode would break apart and he would be left in a frightening grey area he had never been before in his life. If he acknowledged their common ground…he didn't know what would happen then. And Uzumaki Naruto was more than a little afraid of finding out.

The raven's eyes narrowed dangerously and he asked again. "What were you doing, with my fireplace?"

"Joke," Naruto held his hands up defensively, his careless smile showing none of the tumult inside. "It was a joke; jeez you are such an uptight bastard. Who jokes about planting bombs?"

The Uchiha turned away; walking towards the open arch Naruto hadn't seen when he'd entered the living room. From what Naruto could see, it led into another large room. This place was decorated with the idea of clean-up at the forefront of design motivation. The floors were dark grey tile and matched the granite countertops. The walls were a deep blue-green.

_He's serious_, Naruto realized with a slight shock. _He's not just being a jerk about my joke. He's actually expecting someone to plant a bomb in his house. What sort of life does this guy lead? __What sort of man is this Uchiha Sasuke?_

"I just noticed that you don't have any pictures up on your mantle." As soon as the blond rushed through the words he turned away from Sasuke to stare at the empty wall behind him. He pretended to study the walls featureless surface with rapt interest, but inside he was sweating. He was waiting for it, curse his impulses, he was waiting for Sasuke to ask 'Wh-'

"Yeah,"

Naruto glanced over his shoulder. Sasuke had stopped, but hadn't turned. The man simply stood in the middle of the archway, his back to the Uzumaki.

"W-why not?"

He approached the other man cautiously, stopping a few feet away, close enough to reach out and touch Sasuke's shoulder…if he wanted to, which he didn't.

"It's not something I like to talk about."

"Oh," Naruto cleared his throat. Silence was becoming a common thing between them. It filled the room uncomfortably, weighing down on them both like lead. He didn't like the quiet, it reminded him too much of the years before, when all he had to talk to was the silence.

"Then let's talk about something else instead." He walked past Sasuke into the kitchen, looking back to smile broadly at the other men. "Do you have anything to put in this coffee; I really don't like it black."

"I have sugar on the counter over there," He indicated a small white ceramic dish over on the far side of the kitchen near the refrigerator, a massive stainless steel machine that was large enough to hold food for the whole city block. Maybe that was something of an overstatement, but Naruto was pretty sure it wasn't much of one. "Milk is in the refrigerator."

"What, no creamer?" The blond set his mug on a counter and stuck his head into the steel giant in search of the milk.

"No," Was all the Uchiha said. He liked his coffee black, very black and very bitter. He disliked those additives that took away from the drinks true taste, but that was a personal preference, and Uchiha Sasuke had never been one to reveal those little details about his personal preferences; at least not intentionally.

"You know…" Naruto had found the carton of 2% and was in the process of adding a generous amount to the contents of his mug. "People might like you if you actually talked a little more."

Sasuke took a sip of coffee, reveling in the hot slid of liquid down his throat. He could feel the warmth settle in his belly, it braced him somewhat, soothed him.

"People might like you if you talked a little less."

"Lies," The blond proudly proclaimed, replacing the milk and reaching for the small bowl of sweetener. The Uchiha's eyebrow rose several millimeters as Naruto added more and more sugar to his coffee. Six teaspoons of the sweet white powder was mixed in before he finally stopped. The Uzumaki turned and grinned at Sasuke, taking a long swallow of his overly sweetened beverage before he spoke again.

"The fact that I'm here is proof that you like me at least a little bit."

Sasuke really wished that the blond didn't look so smug. He took a deep breath and sipped at his drink, the clawing bit enough to stabilize his skyrocketing ire.

"It's proof that I wasn't going to leave you lying unconscious in the middle of a trashed apartment downtown."

"Oh, come on Sasuke." Naruto's grin was irksome and filled with a certain ignorance that was also amusing. "I know that you like me, at least a little."

_How can you say something so blatant? _The Uchiha thought. _There is no way that you would be completely fine with saying anything so forward about someone's feelings for you unless you had absolutely no clue just how right you really are. So the real question is…how do I respond?_

.:xXXx:.

"What if I said that you were right?"

Naruto choked on his coffee, a thin stream of the brown liquid dribbled out of his nose. He wiped it away self-consciously, glaring daggers in the Uchiha's direction. The cursed man didn't even bat an eyelash.

"What did you say?"

The raven stared at Naruto, unyielding black against crystalline blue. The blond watched pale lips part and in slow motion form words.

"I said: what if I said that you were right?"

"I…" Naruto's Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed hard. "I…don't, I mean…I can't…"

Sasuke started towards the blond, his coffee mug set down somewhere along the large expanse of countertop on the way. His steps were even and deliberately slow; they might've been menacing but for the small measure of carelessness he had added to his movements for the express purpose of keeping the blond from total panic. He didn't want the man hospitalized, it was enough for him to witness once to realize that, put under enough stress, Naruto would and could collapse, and that was not his goal.

He reached the Uzumaki who was by this time, quite literally shaking. Whether the tremors were being caused by fear or simple apprehension Sasuke wasn't altogether certain. But the man had not moved, which was a promising sign; but Sasuke wanted insurance all the same. He had a message that he wanted delivered and he would make sure that it was.

.:XX:.

He didn't know what was going on; his head was whirling around, nothing made sense. He tried making sense of what Sasuke had just said, but it didn't compute. It didn't make sense that...the man he'd spent almost every moment of their acquaintance arguing with would say something like that. He didn't know what was going on. He looked up and it was something of a shock to find the raven quickly approaching him. The instinct to run came a second too late.

Before Naruto could move to escape the Uchiha, he found himself trapped. The small of his back was pressed firmly into the unyielding granite edge while two long, strong arms bracketed his hips, confining him inside.

Sasuke's palms were flat against the cool stone and it was with some surprise that the blond realized no part of either man was actually touching the other. The raven's body hovered a fraction of an inch away, so close that Naruto could feel the other man's heat. He was hyper-aware of every breath; every movement, however minute and the blond had a feeling that that was Sasuke's goal. But he couldn't keep his senses from instinctually expanding to take in every detail of the raven. It was a defensive means, second nature to Kyuubi meant to keep Naruto safe, but in the blonds' current situation it was becoming increasingly troublesome. He could feel his powers trying to take hold, trying to trip a failsafe in his brain that would transform him, that last thing he wanted right now. If he suddenly sprouted claws, he was pretty sure that Sasuke would back off and probably let him go. But if his eyes started glowing red, his scars got black and whisker-esk, he grew fangs and started talking an octave lower in addition to the claws; Naruto was not only sure that the raven would back off and let him go, the man would probably have some sort of apathetic aneurism and figure out that he wasn't exactly normal.

It was taking all of his concentration just to keep his powers from manifesting physically; there was no way that he could push Sasuke away. Even when the brunette leaned in, he couldn't do anything but keep from instinctively reaching out and licking that creamy white skin. The urge to taste every inch of pale flesh, to feel the man's hard body, to smell that beautiful scent mingle with his own and hear every whispered breath…was growing unbearable. This was bad.

.:XX:.

Something wasn't right. Sasuke could feel the hesitation, which he had anticipated, but he hadn't expected the blond to be so docile; not during the first advance at least.

The Uchiha leaned back, still keeping Naruto in the confines of his arms, but backing off a little to study the man. The blond had his eyes squeezed shut, he was panting hard and… Sasuke's onyx orbs tracked the wash of red as it crept along Naruto's cheeks. Sasuke had noticed the blonds' strange tendency, probably a genetic trait, to blush downwards and continue to emote until something else distracted him from the self-consciousness. His curiosity was piqued slightly; a moment of fancy, the desire to see just how far down the red went.

"Stop playing games!"

Naruto's voice was strange. It was pitchy, in those three words; the blonds' voice went from deep penetrating bass, to his 'normal' voice, shaking with vibrato. The tone he used was probably meant to sound confident and angry, but with the abnormal highs and lows, it came off weak and fragile.

_This was perhaps, a bit premature, but he was not mistaking the blonds' reactions. If Naruto wanted him away, then he would've pushed and cursed, not stammered and blushed. There was really only one way to tell for certain. It would be something of a gamble, but if he was right…_

"This is no game." Sasuke assured. _This was a calculated risk._

.:XX:.

This was bad, this was bad; this was very, very bad. Naruto could practically taste the Sasuke leaning in towards him. He knew that if he opened his eyes, the jig would be up, the man would see the red, his pupils and then his secret would be out. He could feel his nails growing, elongating; it was the same steady pressure that was building on the inside of his mouth, a warning that his fangs would start to show through.

He heard Sasuke say his name, the challenge to push him back, shove him away was there, he could hear it plainly; although, in his current state, the blond would've been able to hear a pin drop on the floor above them. He smelled the heat of the raven's body as it drew nearer, could nearly taste the stray flakes of skin that he was pretty sure Sasuke didn't know he was shedding.

And then he tasted something else. Something was pressed onto his mouth, the contact steady, but the pressure was no more than a whisper. Sudden realization blotted out Kyuubi, the niggling pull of power was completely washed from Naruto's brain, replaced by the knowledge that he was being kissed by Uchiha Sasuke.

Blue eyes popped open, wide with surprise. Shock and the absence of Kyuubi spurred his limbs into mobility. He grabbed at the man's shirtfront and pushed, keeping the raven from advancing while he backed his head away. He was surprised to find himself breathing heavily and thrust the information aside to focus on the pair of fathomless black eyes which were still a few scant centimeters away.

"I don't know what you mean about liking me." The blond cursed himself for sounding breathless. He really ought to be angry and punch the guy. That was the natural reaction; that was what he was supposed to do. But he couldn't stomach the idea.

"We barely know each other. And you can't like someone that you don't even know, not in the way you mean."

To Naruto's relief the raven backed up on his own, one…two…three steps across to the other side of the kitchen. But the intensity of the man's piercing onyx gaze hadn't backed up a step. Sasuke continued to study him closely, his expression unreadable.

"I have a proposition for you Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto felt himself swallow which did nothing for his suddenly dry mouth. But he would not show the raven just how much he felt like he'd been backed into a corner. Boldly, the blond met Sasuke's unwavering gaze, folding his arms across his chest.

"Come on, let's hear it."

If the raven was surprised by this show of bravado it didn't register on his pale perfect features. His voice was very straightforward, business-like and professional.

"One week, we will 'get to know each other', "date" if you care for that term. Allow yourself the chance to grow more accustomed to the idea."

"You're assuming that I'm gay."

"I never assume anything."

Naruto had the feeling that the raven meant it, every nuance. He also got the feeling that Sasuke was being extremely patient with him, past what he normally would. He'd probably never had to woo a single partner in his life. People were more than likely flinging themselves at the Uchiha's feet night after night, begging the man for attention. Which begged the question: why Sasuke was even bothering with him in the first place?

"And what happens after the week is up?"

"Two outcomes are possible. One," The raven presented a single pale digit to illustrate. "You will remain unconvinced and I will no longer press the subject. You will not hear from me again."

Naruto cleared his throat. "And the second?" Wearily he waited for the answer.

A second finger joined the first and then both dropped to the raven's side. "You are convinced."

The blond snorted. "What, you're not going to argue the point, try and convince me right here with descriptions of pleasure and fantasies of all the wonderful nights we would have together once I became your lover?"

"Would that sway you?" Not a muscle on the Uchiha's face twitched, nor did the pitch of his voice raise or drop a hertz. His eyes, however, only increased in their passion. "Would knowing that I could give you more pleasure than you have ever dreamed of persuade you? If I said that you would be begging for it over and over again after the first time, would you agree to try?"

Naruto hadn't realized that he was gritting his teeth until his jaw began to ache. Images of the two dancers flashed unbidden into his brain. _His dream, the flashes of pleasure, the expressions of utter bliss as they touched each other. Sasuke could do more, Sauske __would__ do more. He could make you feel better than you ever have in your life. _

_Pale lips caressing his skin, slender fingers curling around his aching and swollen flesh, sliding up and down, faster and faster until the pleasure was too great, too much, over and over again…_

The raven frowned slightly. "I have offered the terms, what is your answer?"

.:xXXx:.

Shikamaru pounded on Naruto's door again, shaking the sturdy wood on its hinges. "Open up you idiot! It's me, come on!"

The door remained shut.

The blond was not home.

Shikamaru sunk to his knees, his forehead pressed up against the smooth timber. He was out of options. It was only a matter of time before that pair from Akatsuki tracked him here and then…he was done.

The brunette wondered fleetingly what it might be like to die. If the experience was like everyone claimed in stories; if you really saw the light at the end of the tunnel. _Would Asuma be there to greet him? Would it hurt?_

_What was the point of running and hiding and doing all those troublesome things to avoid those two if he was just going to wind up killed anyway? He was just going to be another figure on the death statistic sheets. He would be swept under the rug and buried under a mountain of paperwork._

The Nara heard voices, two of them, coming up the steps. They were headed in his direction and they were arguing.

Shikamaru closed his eyes and fingered the long-dead cell-phone in his pocket. _All for nothing…all for nothing…_


	12. Chapter12: Tangled Thread

Chapter_12: Day One

One hour, fifty-four minutes and twenty-six seconds… One hour, fifty-four minutes and twenty-five seconds… One hour, fifty four minutes and twenty-four seconds…

Naruto pulled the leather cuff of his jacket over the watch. _He wasn't nervous. Just because he had been counting the time since he'd gotten home that morning, all the way to, through and from work and now, and hadn't stopped now that he was on patrol as Kyuubi, it didn't mean anything. He wasn't nervous. In fact there was absolutely nothing to be nervous about. So what if this was the first date he'd had in eight years? So what that it was with a man that he hardly even knew? So what that it was with a…a man…?_

The blond groaned and slapped his forehead. The resounding 'smack' of a leather-clad palm impacting the skin of his brow echoed around the empty buildings spread out under the man's feet and disappeared into the deep shadows.

He had to get a grip. If he couldn't get himself focused, especially on this side of the Bridge, there wouldn't be anything left to _go_ on that date with Sasuke.

A bitter wind from the South had sprung up sometime that morning and was still going strong. It pulled and gripped at the collar of his jacket, flapping it roughly against the covered skin of Naruto's neck.

The blond took a deep breath, taking in the sweet scent of ice and salt that always tinged the Southern winds. It had been days since he'd last taken up the mantle of Kyuubi and Naruto was grateful for the retreat. He actually found it a little amusing that getting shot at and threatened was his form of vacation. But he found solace in the stability here. Here the world was black and white. He was good guy, the bad guys were waiting out there. They were trying to kill him before he could take away their lucrative business opportunities in Konoha, or their lives, he always gave them that option.

There was never any second-guessing, no confusion, just gunshots, the heady smell of fear and the inevitable culmination of a nights events in victory.

The thick black clouds overhead hid what would've been a full moon from view; which was fine. Naruto preferred nights like this, where one could hardly see across the street for the blackness. It was nights like this one when he had the greatest advantage; the bad guys were on edge, nervous and he was the one in control. It was nights like this where he could expand his senses and drown in the life rolling around him.

The building was high, affording a complete vista of Konoha's south end. His red eyes traversed back and forth, following the slightest traces of movement, the barest hint of motion in the night. A van, standing out madly clashing with the high-end luxury cars that were more than likely on their way to or from 'Sound'. He tracked the vehicle as it turned, moving down a vacant street, driving a little ways and turning once more, this time into a pitch-black alleyway.

Naruto snorted. Gangs thought that they were smart, hiding in places that no normal person could see, crawling on their bellies and praying that no one would notice them. But he could see…everything.

The watch appeared again, the green haze glowing out the time. He had one hour, fifty minutes and thirty-nine seconds left… One hour, fifty minutes and thirty-eight seconds… One hour fifty minutes and thirty-seven seconds…

He was not nervous!

Recklessly he plunged headfirst off the building, reveling in the rush of wind and adrenaline, pushing thoughts of the not so distant future aside. He was on a mission, he had to focus.

The cracked asphalt rose up to meet him. Deftly, the blond tucked his head, rolling his body in midair. His feet hit the pavement first, the momentum of his fall rotating his body into a deep crouch until a bright lock of his hair disappeared into the new crack he'd created in the pavement.

Slowly, Naruto reached into himself, into his belly where he could feel his power clawing, aching to be released fully. The all too familiar rush of heat swelled out from inside of him, washing over his skin and lolling across every fiber of his being, dousing it in white hot light. The pleasure of it was almost orgasmic, but Naruto could also feel the danger underneath the power; the peril of giving himself completely over to its sweet control. So he always kept a little of himself in control.

In the blackness of the backstreet he'd crash landed, nothing but boiling red eyes were visible. A menacing growl penetrated the thick darkness, and then the nightmare was gone, leaving nothing but a fresh crevasse in the pavement to mark he was ever there at all.

.:xXXx:.

One hour, forty-five minutes and twelve seconds until the appointed meeting time.

_He was not nervous. Uchiha Sasuke didn't do nervous. Uchiha's didn't do nervous. He was anticipating the coming events with something close to excitement, but Uchiha's didn't do excitement either, so it wasn't excitement._

_He was…looking forward to tonight; that was the extent of his emotional expenditures into that night's engagement. But by the same token, he wasn't typically expending any emotion besides apathy and annoyance. Feeling antsy was not in his nature. It was…different._

The nearby clock was ticking far too slowly for Sasuke's taste. Obsidian eyes flicked briefly over the device's face and just as quickly moved away. One hour, forty-four minutes and forty seconds.

Sighing, the raven eased himself up from where he sat, the white leather groaning its protest of his absence. He had the time; he should make the effort to look his best.

Despite his promise of a weeks' worth of courting, Sasuke was banking on the blond not being able to last that long. If everything went the way that he anticipated, Naruto would be begging for it by the end of three days. That was perhaps the greatest contribution to his current tension. He had never before been forced to wait for something he wanted, besides Itachi, but that was not the in context he was waiting for Naruto. His patience was steadily growing thin, rare thing for someone who prided themselves on total emotional control. He had found himself regretting the promise of a week. He's found himself frustrated that he'd agreed to let the matter drop completely if Naruto wasn't convinced by the end of that trail period. _The blond would not…but how could he be certain? The man could simply say he wasn't sure just to spite him; Sasuke knew enough of the blond's personality to know it was a very unpleasant possibility._

_The obvious solution was to make sure that the blond was completely and utterly satisfied. But he had never slept with a virgin before. Would sating Naruto sexually drive the blond away mentally? Did it even matter of there was more to the relationship than one night?_

One hour, forty-two minutes and nineteen seconds…

The Uchiha turned down the main hall of his penthouse apartment, the same one Naruto had walked down only that morning. He moved with the poise for one long familiar with his surroundings, stopping at the thirteenth door on the right.

The bathroom beyond was immense, the entirety tiled deep green, the fixtures cold, black steel.

Sasuke walked in and shut the door, flicking on the overhead fan before pulling off his clothing.

_What did he want?_ That question echoed in the raven's mind. _Was he really only after a good screw? Was the affirmation of control really worth this depravation? If all that was required was the verification of his power, wouldn't it be more productive to just force the blond, take what he needed and be done with the aggravating individual? Why was he thinking about this now? Why hadn't these questions been asked when he'd first singled the man out? Why was he pondering them now?_

The hot water poured over moonlight pale skin, coursing gently through raven locks before it slid lovingly over limbs and abdomen tight with lean muscle. Uchiha Sasuke was blessed with the ethereal grace, black hair, and beautiful features of his mother's side while his body had manifested both the strength and the cunning of his father's side. He'd never questioned his good fortune, thinking on these genetic predispositions after a time as more of a curse than a blessing.

A fixed amount of shampoo was dabbed neatly into the palm of Sauke's hand. The raven gazed at the shining white viscous liquid a moment, his eyes considering it while his thoughts roamed elsewhere.

The ever persistent question remained, as of yet, unanswered. _What did he want? What did he, Uchiha Sasuke want?_

_Control… _

That seemed reasonable enough, logical even. But given that desire, would his current emotional response rationally follow? _No._

The shampoo was smothered in wet ebony, the whiteness vanishing completely as it was teased into the man's scalp and hair with practiced fingers.

_So if he reason was irrational, then he had some other motivation._

_Lust…_

The man's hands swept down to his sides and he tilted his head back. The hot water rushed through his hair, mingling with the thick white lather and washing it down his back, the bubbles only a shade paler than his skin.

_That was it, it made the most sense. It accounted for his impatience, his frustration…his singular fixation on the blond._

_Lust…_

Sasuke grabbed a bar of soap from where it lay on one of the shelves built into the wall.

_Just lust…_

.:xXXx:.

They were waiting for something.

Naruto could smell their impatience, the fear carried on the harsh wind. It was a delicious spice, dappled with the fire of blood and the ripe stench of unwashed bodies.

This was a slave shipment. The blond could feel his temper rising as the whimpering and crying of those inside the truck tickled his ears.

To his disappointment, it had turned out to be a Hebi run, which meant it was off limits courtesy of his agreement with Boss Hebi. The same platinum haired man he'd seen at the last Hebi drug run he'd attended was standing in the middle of the group. It was a good sized mob of about twenty men, all burly, dirty and heavily armed. But the more Naruto watched, the less sure he was that the bleach-blond gunman was actually the one overseeing the operation. It looked to the Kyuubi superhero that he was one of the hired hands, which didn't make sense to him. People weren't demoted on the streets, they were disposed of.

He was going to have to find Boss Hebi and clarify a few terms of their agreement, after he took this shipment out, of course.

"Who are you?" Naruto's eyes veered sharply to the blond gunman. The man was pointing past the truck and away from Naruto, so he hadn't been discovered prematurely. That begged the question: who was the guy pointing at?

Before the superhuman could turn to look, the scene before him exploded into chaos.

All twenty men opened fire, filling the alley with deadly fire in such a heavy concentration that the blond didn't think that even he could've dodged them all. The flashes and sharp popping of discharging weapons went on for a solid thirty seconds and then…silence.

_Had they gotten whatever it was that was down there?_

A slow, even chuckle came from the far end of the alley where the gang had been shooting. The duration was short, but the message was clear: they had all missed.

"Was that your best?" A voice hidden somewhere in the deeper shadows mocked. "You should be thankful that I'm destroying you; it will save the world a good amount of pain in watching how the pathetic struggle to dominate."

"Who are you?" The leader stepped forward boldly, an action he never lived to regret. His head literally burst apart in a shower of blood, bone fragments and grey matter.

The impromptu deluge of their superior's bloody brains splattered down on the rest of the men, staining their clothing a pretty pink. The scent of panic rose to a heady crescendo in Naruto's nostrils and he watched as the formerly confident men began to back away, horrified as the headless body of their supervisor toppled, lifeless, to the ground. No blood seeped from the wound, the coagulated stump of a neck was seared shut by the heat and concussive force of the round which had taken off the man's head.

"H-he's dead!" One of the twenty cried out. He pointed his gun the down the alley and a second resounding boom vibrated the buildings around them. The man gurgled, a trail of blood dribbling down his chin. He reached around and tried to feel where he had been wounded, or he would've, if he'd had anything to feel. Half of his chest, the right side, had practically disintegrated before Naruto's eyes, like some invisible and huge creature had come along and taken a bite out of the burly male.

A second gurgling belch come from the man, spattering his chin with crimson and he collapsed.

The second his corpse hit, the alleyway erupted. It was like the man's falling carcass had been the signal flag, and this was the gang version of a NASCAR race.

Boom after concussive 'boom' reverberated through the tall grey buildings, and with each successive shot, another gang member went down, grabbing blindly at the precisely and deadly placed hole in their anatomy.

In a matter of a minute, it was over. The passageway was painted a sickening pink, it blood having mixed with liquefied internal organs before spraying onto the walls and pavement. The truck had not gone unscathed; half a dozen huge holes had been punched into the side of the metal cargo container, the jagged edges glowing orange and letting off smoke. The whimpering Naruto had heard from before had stopped; not even the merchandise had survived.

The only thing that was still moving was- "Man…" The young man with platinum hair grinned, his back pressed against one wheel of the heavy vehicle. He was grinning, not the expression of fear one would imagine plastered on his face after seeing twenty of his companions cut down in less time than it took to take a crap.

"I've got to get my hands on that sweet mofo gun." The gunman's voice was laced with admiration.

The assassin's response was a deep chuckle. "Concussion rounds, they do a nice job, but I don't think that you have the chops for this big boy's toy."

It was the bleach-blond's turn to chuckle, his hands caressing the rather large firearm cradled in his arms. "At least tell me your name, something I can put on your grave marker."

"That's big talk coming from someone connected to that powerless little gang, Suigetsu of Hebi."

The hands stopped stroking and tightened around the butt and muzzle of the weapon, protectively, possessively. His voice, though, was careless, almost jovial. "So you know who I am, give me your name of you're enough of a man."

Naruto wasn't sure what was going on, he'd never been party to this weird verbal battle, where pride was the victor's boon. Well, pride, and a really big gun.

"I am called Kisame." The voice further down called through his vapid laughter. "Now, little man, come and show me your teeth."

.XX.

Suigetsu knew in that moment that he was going to die today, tonight, amongst the remains of men he didn't even know. This was the way he'd always figured he'd go, with a gun in his hands, spraying hot lead at whatever enemy there was on that particular day. His insides would dye the street permanently, a gruesome testament to his death, one no one would ever be able to ignore. It was better than a freaking tombstone!

"Love to," He rose. Everything was so surreal, like he was simply dreaming. Heck, maybe this was all just one big crazy dream; but that would make his one strange mofo, dreaming about his own death. Why not, he thought about it enough anyway?

He sidestepped until his vision was no longer blocked by the trucks' flaming hood. A lone figure emerged from the shadows, tall and impressive, taking its slow sweet time making its way toward him.

Suigestu's eyes went wide and he fought to swallow. It was an Akatsuki…

The man who called himself Kisame approached, his impressive weapon slung carelessly over one shoulder. He grinned evilly at Suigetsu, his filed teeth gleaming in the dark.

"It's refreshing to find someone who appreciates the fine art of gunmanship." Kisame said. "Unlike many of my cohorts, who have little stomach for anything but these rudimentary methods of killing."

"I probably wouldn't mind getting killed by someone like you eventually." Suigetsu shrugged. "But a person as clumsy and inexperienced as you obviously are can't kill such a skilled person such as myself. I'll just have to exterminate you myself and take that incredible gun of yours for my own."

The man with blue skin and shark's teeth glowered at his opponent who frustratingly, didn't look in the least afraid. The bleached-blond gunner looked…excited.

Kisame snorted. "I'd like to see you try."

This was it…he was going to die…

Suigetsu found himself oddly nostalgic, wishing that he could be with Karin one last time. _That hard-edged woman, who had the biggest brain out of Sasuke's three lieutenants, who kept everyone out by throwing up walls of anger; he wished that he could hold her in his arms…just one more time. They fought like cats and dogs whenever they were at work, heck they fought like cats and dogs even when they were screwing each other. No one was supposed to know, but Suigetsu knew that his boss had figured it out a long time ago and he didn't care. He loved being around Karin when it was just the two of them. He loved the way that she dropped the pretence of ire whenever he was inside of her. He loved the new way she'd screamed his name that first night, no annoyance, no aggravation. He loved the way that she clung to him, would wrap her around him, and dig her nails into his back as he drove into her tight wetness hard and fast until they both came, her tight sheath pulling rhythmically on him. She always felt so good on him, so right. Like no hooker ever had._

_It was almost a shame that it had to end like this, so abruptly. Karin would probably die of a broken heart, not that she would ever admit to that, but she would…he could tell._

Kisame's fingers tightened on the butt of his gun, a subtle tell that Suigetsu wished he'd be able to pass along to whoever came along after. But there would likely be nothing left of his body after this little fire-fight was over.

Oh, well… he thought, his own muscles already contracting to pull the muzzle of his own weapon to bear. Even if I have a hard time of it tonight, I'm going to drag as big of a chunk of this guy to Hell along with me as I can.

There was a split second where everything froze; where time ceased for both men in the alley, bringing details into crisp focus. A single bead of sweat gleamed on Suigetsu's temple, a crystalline jewel with tendrils of frost playing across its surface. The string of saliva was gathering at the corner of Kisame's leering grin, the wet sheen of it glimmering evilly on the pearly whiteness of the man's sharpened teeth.

The muzzle of the gun was pointing towards the black clouds, frozen half-way between where the shark-man had kept it hanging casually at his back and pointed at his target. Suigetsu's own hefty firearm was swinging into position. They would both take aim together, they would both fire together. Their shots would sound as one voice in the abandoned streets. But who would die first?

The large round hole from where came flaming, pounding death, was scorched, a deeper black then the rest of the weapon. Guns carried their own marks from the lives they had claimed.

The triumphant leer was sealed on Kisame's thin, angular face. When the test was of his chosen profession, he had no doubts that he would be the one walking away. He was going to win.

And then everything was gone. Kisame's imposing figure blurred; nothing more than a fuzzy stick figure standing amongst the gruesome wreckage and pasty remains of twenty bad men. The fire in the truck's engine exploded a second later, but the young gunman was already two hundred feet away and counting. Everything was moving, and far too quickly. Suigetsu realized that something had him by the back of the collar and that something was responsible for pulling him away from that Akatsuki gunman.

Gratitude and indignation had a merry battle in his brain. He couldn't figure whether he ought to thank whoever had a hold of him, or if he should salvage what remained of his pride and insist on going back to that alley.

He didn't have the time to decide between the two. The blond man was thrown unceremoniously into a pile of black garbage bags. Suigetsu began to struggle out of the heap, cursing loudly, but a deep voice cut off his vehement protesting.

"Shut up!"

Suigetsu either missed or ignored the warning in the voice because he continued to struggle and curse, both with renewed earnest.

A pair of clawed hands ripped into the thick fabric of the blonds' jacket and Suigetsu was hoisted out of the trash. His back hit an unforgiving brick wall where it stayed. His feet hung uselessly and the claws were beginning to gouge painfully into his chest.

A masked face was pushed in close to his own and for the first time, Suigetsu got a good long look at his rescuer. It was the same guy that Karin had described to him; the same demon eyes, the same aura of hatred and evil. For the first time in his twenty-six years of life, Suigetsu was terrified.

"I said: SHUT UP!" The creature who held him roared, shaking the Hebi lieutenant like he was a rag doll.

"You're nothing! You're trash! You're scum!" The thing all of Hebi had come to know as Kyuubi continued to snarl. "You are the dirt that has to be swept away! You are…" A sudden sob cut off the man's words.

The claws disappeared and Suigetsu slid unexpectedly to the pavement. He watched as the other man drew back, his eyes leering venomously in his direction. And then…Suigetsu was alone in the alley. No trace that there had ever been a second person with him remained, only the scant memories, a faint hiss, and a lingering scent that niggled in the back of the blond man's brain.

"What was that?"

.:xXXx:.

_This wasn't how things were supposed to be going. This wasn't like had had planned at all. He was supposed to be saving Konoha, sweeping the streets clean. He was supposed to be righting wrongs, representing justice, cracking skulls in the name of liberty. He wasn't supposed to be on the bad guy's side! He wasn't supposed to be saving them!_

_Nothing made sense to him anymore. Everything was coming apart, churning around him and sweeping him up in a current that he couldn't swim against._

_He had to grab hold of something, anything that offered stability. He needed to ground himself, he had to anchor himself with...what?_

.:xXXx:.

Forty-eight minutes, twenty-seven seconds…

Sasuke Uchiha was ready to go.

There was little else that he could think of to do that wasn't pointless. He was ready; he would head down to meet Naruto now. He'd be early, but he that would give him time to set everything up. An Uchiha was nothing if not prepared.

Sasuke glanced at his reflection in the large mirrored wall.

He was washed, dried, dressed and set. He'd chosen a more casual look for the first night, something like what he'd worn the previous night. His jeans were black, not baggy, but not that awful skinny style that had become popular somehow. The raven refused to wear them; he had enough problems with people staring at his backside without wearing clothing that didn't overtly cling to his perfectly formed rear. He'd never be able to get Karin to concentrate again.

His shirt was the biggest dress down, it wasn't button-up. The thick dark-grey cotton long-sleeve was neat and clean-cut. Under the deeply hued material, Sasuke had layered a white long-sleeve for warmth and to complete the look of the thing. Slivers of the snowy fabric were visible at the collar, wrists and hem, bringing out some much needed color in the Uchiha's pale skin.

A hard pounding echoed unexpectedly from somewhere near the front end of Sasuke's large apartment. The pace of the blows increased with each successive knock, escalating to a nearly frantic series of thumps.

The raven gave his casually clad figure one last look before making his way, unhurried, towards his front door and the source of the disturbance.

_It was probably Suigetsu_, Sasuke reasoned. _The man always did like to brag about the jobs he did on the side, especially after it went well. He really didn't have the patience to humor his lieutenant tonight. He had other things on his mind right now._

The volume and intensity of each impact increased the closer Sasuke got to his front door. _Did Suigetsu want to knock his door down? Why was he being much more aggressive than normal?_

"Calm down." The raven called through the door as he deftly unlatched his locks. Carefully, he drew the door open. "What do you wan-"

Naruto had him by the shoulders, was pushing him backwards and into his apartment. Sasuke was so startled that he didn't even have time to shut the door before he was swept away by the blond tidal wave.

The raven was backtracked a good fifty feet in a matter of seconds and probably would've gotten pushed farther, except a wall got in the way.

Sasuke hissed in pain, his spine aching with the unexpected trauma. He called out the blond's name, or tried to. The name came out something like "Mard-o" and was flatly ignored by the Uchiha's assailant who continued to work on the man's lips.

_Naruto was kissing him, attacking him for the express purpose of kissing him! What was going on?_ Questions began to crowd in, too many to be comfortably ignored. _Just this morning it had made him nauseous to even think about such contact, and yet now, ten hours later, he was the one initiating such interaction? It didn't follow well enough to suit Sasuke._

The Uchiha gripped Naruto's tanned cheeks and forcibly backed the blond off his mouth. Naruto literally growled, it was an animal sound, feral.

"You're a little bit early." His voice hadn't been affected by the abuse, although he hadn't been the one going at it like a fox in heat.

The blond seemed to deflate. He seemed to shrink back into himself, but he didn't back away from Sasuke at all. He actually took a step closer, pressing his forehead against the Uchiha's collarbone.

It was one of the five moments that Sasuke could remember in the whole of his lifetime that he…didn't know what to do. He was still cupping the man's face in his hands, and Naruto was holding onto his shoulders like they were the only thing keeping him from disappearing forever.

"I need you to make it make sense." The blond's voice was strained, choked with unshed tears.

"What?"

"I need you," Naruto's head tilted upwards. The Uchiha felt the man's lips graze the underside of his chin, the soft hollow placed between his throat and the edge of his jaw. "…to make this…" Their eyes met, held as Naruto leaned in closer.

Their mouths met, clung for one second…two and then Naruto tilted his head to the side and Sasuke was lost in the delicious friction that was the blond's lips.

Chapped, the raven registered that fact and tucked it away alongside the analytical portion of his psyche for the time being. The blonds lips were chapped, the texture of rough skin subtly rubbing against Sasuke's mouth was surprisingly pleasant.

The thick satin of yellow hair tangled in his fingers. The teasing saltiness of Naruto's lips whispered of secrets further in whilst the raven nipped and played at Naruto's mouth.

The man's other hand trailed up to capture the bronzed column of Naruto's throat, Sasuke's thumb unconsciously brushing the lowest of the three thin scars.

The blond hadn't remained impassive either, just as Sasuke had predicted. He dimly registered hands gripping at the front of his shirt, dragging their bodies closer.

And then the kiss was over. Naruto was taking in air with the shaky gasps that marked him a newcomer to the world of lip-lock.

"Make this make sense to me…" The Uzumaki gasped out, his eyes pleading. "Help me understand…just this one thing…"


	13. Chapter13:Tell Me It Makes Sense

**Here it, I'm sorry that it took so long, and there are no promises about how long it's going to take me to post the next one. A week tops, just because I have to find out what my finals schedule/work schedule is going to look like. **'sweat drop'** Don't hurt me!**

**Thank you reviewers! I got so many this time around, haha, tease you people with a little sex and you all turn into review manics! I see how it is.**

S i l e n t .M u s i c. B o x, Me, Miso Ramen-sama, peaches, Narudi18, done-and-done, ShEiLdEd-WiNgS, kiki2222, catiemon, ovicati, PaInTiNg-ThE-aPocAlYpCe, Fireotaku18, Wraith, 'whew'

Oh and **S i l e n t .M u s i c. B o x: **I noticed that Naruto was a bit agressive in the first chapter, so I toned it down some. I wanted the differance to be Naruto's choice, just like anybody with superpowers and a consciounce. That way there's always the question of whether or not he's going to soop to the same level as those he is trying to destroy. And it make it easier for people who make the Naruto=Kyuubi connection to believe it. Thanks for the observation, I **love** the feedback and that goes for everybody.

**Disclaimer**: Kishimoto paid me to write this story, but not with money! I get me some sweet Gaara lovin'. 'Glares at those who are looking disgusted and sticks tongue out': 'Don't knock it 'till you've tried it.'

Okaaay...

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter_13: Tell Me It Makes Sense<strong>

"Sasuke…" Naruto's voice sounded weak in the apartment's arid silence. "…please…Sasuke…"

The raven looked into the blonds' face. His pale fingertips touched under the tan chin and lifted gently. Naruto's gaze wavered for a moment before holding steadily with Sasuke's dark eyes. He might've gone ahead; he was a hairs breath away from it. But what the raven saw in those wide, expressive blue pools made him pause. What blithely swirled in those expressive depths…was fear, accented by other, lesser sentiments, but fear…

Sasuke had never seen the blond look so…hesitant, so frightened and that was wrong to him somehow. It was strange for the man to be so quiet, so uncertain and passive.

The brunette realized distantly that his hand had travelled up the scarred cheek to tangle in Naruto's thick mane. Realization mixed with fear within the deep sapphires and the blond released a shaky breath. Dark eyelids slid shut, cutting the connection.

He was tempted, very tempted, to pull the blond in once more. He could, Sasuke knew a golden opportunity when it threw itself literally into his arms; he could take it further than just this pithy first base. That temptation was nearly overpowering, but how could it be helped. The heat, the power, the passion that this man radiated was all there, just beneath the surface; the raven could feel it, smothered barely in layers of anxiety.

It was with a mild sort of bewilderment that Sasuke found he could not bring himself to push farther. _Curse is over attentive brain and his high-tuned devotion to detail._

Obsidian eyes drifted over the blonds' face: the brilliant, now hidden, cerulean iris's, the sun kissed skin, the unusual whisker-esk scars that graced the man's squared jaw, and those fascinating, kiss reddened lips.

Naruto grunted, what might've been protest or simple confusion, and Sasuke was staring into the man's bright blue eyes once more. They were so close, their faces nearly touching. The raven could feel Naruto's breath fan against his mouth, could read the emotions swimming in the man's eyes.

Lust…it filmed over the blond man's expressive eyes, shadowing what else swam inside. But Sasuke found it, beneath the pleasure and the want; he could still see the question, the confusion. _He could not…_

"Not this time Naruto," The Uchiha pushed the man off of himself, starting down the hallway. He intended to take Naruto somewhere…very public and very well lit where he could find out what had prompted this sudden desire in the blond to experiment. He intended to get some answers; he didn't like unknowns. But the raven made it only a few steps before he felt hands gripping the back of his shirt, effectively stopping him mid-step.

"Wait, Sasuke…"

Sasuke allowed the blond to hold him still, but did not turn.

"Sasuke…" The Uzumaki's whisper was hoarse, desperate...but the other could hear the faint undertones of hesitation. "I…I…"

"What is this, Naruto?" Sasuke cut the blond off. He didn't want the man saying anything that he might regret later. Guilt would only serve to drive the blond farther away from Sasuke in the long run and the raven would allow none of that. "Why are you forcing yourself?"

"I…" The fingers that clung to him clenched. Nail's dug sharply into pale shoulder-blades for a moment, as if struggling to find purchase on a sheer rock face. A deep, quivering sigh came from behind Sasuke, bathing the back of his neck in vaporous warmth.

He sighed again and Sasuke felt another pressure laid against his back, this one at the top of his spine. This time when Naruto spoke, his voice was closer. He'd let his forehead rest on the Uchiha's back and he still had the man's shirt fisted. "I'm…I'm not forcing anything…"

The admission was nothing more than a whisper; it tickled the fine hairs along Sauske's neck, prickling the flesh there. There it was: permission. _It was obviously a lie, but what could he do at this point? If Naruto was pushing it this far, this hard was it too much to assume that he was a little scared but willing at the same time?_

"Naruto," Sasuke's response was stern, demanding. "Ask me properly."

The fingers clasping his back tightened further, if that were humanly possible, the Uchiha was fairly certain that there were now ten holes in his brand new shirt. And then he was being embraced, in the literal sense. Arms had reached around to wrap across his chest. A strong, well-muscled torso was being pressed fully against his back, a soft cheek lain upon the top if his spine.

The Uchiha surprised himself by allowing the tender contact, feeling the closeness, the intimacy, the incredible warmth of Naruto's body. _It was for the blonds' comfort…nothing more. That he found the embrace mildly satisfying was only a side benefit._

"I've never done anything like this before..." The Uzumaki said. "I…would like to try…with you."

Sasuke easily slipped out of Naruto's weak grasp, moving past the blond to lead the way down the long hallway. "Then follow me."

Naruto watched as the ravens back steadily grew smaller as the man continued to walk leisurely down the hall.

This was another test, to see if Naruto could follow by himself. The blond recognized it immediately; because for a moment, he wasn't sure that he could. But the moment passed and resolutely, Naruto began the long march after the raven. _One foot in front of the other, it became easier with each step, but he couldn't allow himself to rethink this. He had put his pride on the line by coming here in the first place. He simply couldn't bail out now._

Carefully, he padded after Sasuke, watching the raven turn left and disappear into a doorway near the end of the corridor, the one from which Naruto had himself emerged only that morning. _Sasuke's bedroom._

His step faltered for a second, but kept on.

He flung himself into the dark bedroom, his gaze fixed solidly on the floor. It was the reason he didn't see Sasuke until the raven was literally upon him.

The door banged shut, cutting off the light and plunging the bedroom into utter darkness.

Before the blond could protest, he was thrust up against the door, his back molded forcibly into the carved contours. The shock of a lean, muscular body pressed fully against his sparking that same restlessness he's experienced the first time he'd kissed Sasuke out in the hall. A warm mouth nestled snugly next to his ear and the raven's deep, approving rumble echoed into its' shell.

"Brave boy," The mouth moved away from his ear, sliding sensuously along the square curvature of Naruto's jaw and up to the blonds' mouth.

The Uchiha stroked, pressed and slid the soft plush of his lips against the rougher texture of his lover's chapped mouth. He tasted the same saltiness as before, where the blond must've licked his lips. The teasing hint of what lay beyond stoked the fire burning along his skin higher, hotter. But he supped only at the man's lips, feasting on the blond's innocent reactions, moans and sighs. There would be time for those intimacies later, once Sasuke had gotten Naruto used to these simple ones.

His hands held tan cheeks, though he couldn't see to identify the color. The blackness had deprived him of his sight, but left his other senses surging up to experience the golden haired man with his fingers, lips and tongue.

Naruto, to the Uchiha's pleasure, didn't shy away, but melted into the kiss. The man tilted his head as before, figuring out that men kissed much the same as anyone else did and that little bit of gleaned information seemed to encourage him.

Naruto's lips parted and suddenly, Sasuke was the one being kissed. The blond took a hold of the man's tops lip between his; leaning back and allowing the flesh to slide sensuously back into place before he repeated the process on Sasuke's lower lip.

The raven was turned on. There was no denying it at this point…ha ha…point…

To provide Naruto with an appropriate picture of what exactly he was doing to him, the Uchiha eased the man's legs apart before settling their hips fully onto each other.

The blond stopped, gasped and drew back, the back of his skull impacting the wooden door with a dull 'thunk'. They stood, Sasuke still holding the man's face in his hands; his hips still pressed pleasantly into Naruto's, showing the other man his evident approval. The raven could hear his heartbeat thrumming in his ears. One passed…a second…one more…

"Sasuke…" Naruto's voice was weak and breathy as he pleaded. "…kiss me…I want your…your tongue-" Which was all the further he got in his explanation. It was all the encouragement Sasuke needed to conclude that the blond was in fact ready for more flagrant pleasures.

Naruto moaned; his mouth very suddenly and very pleasantly occupied. A tongue, Sasuke's tongue slipped along the rough contours of his lips, toying and sweeping on the dry skin. It was almost as if the man were asking permission, knocking and waiting for Naruto to let him in. The mental picture made him smirk into Sasuke's kiss. It was strange to be smiling in such a close setting.

Naruto surprised himself by touching the man's tongue with his own, with none of the finesse, and not a hint of that practiced teasing Sasuke had displayed whatsoever, but he didn't need to tease to get his message across. 'I want to try this,' his mouth whispered silently to the raven. 'Come and taste me,' beckoned his tongue as it touched lightly on the raven's sweet questing flesh. 'I'm asking you in.' The raven heard and his answer was to withdraw from Naruto's lips long enough to place a feather-soft kiss against his jaw before returning to plunge inside the blonds waiting mouth, to the warm wetness beyond.

. Naruto would've expected adding such a blatant intimacy to skyrocket the scene out of control. But the mood of the kiss changed not at all; he'd been wrong. The kiss remained gentle, slow and almost tender, if he'd thought that Uchiha Sasuke was a man capable of tenderness. But that would never be the first adjective that came to mind when Naruto thought of Sasuke.

The raven's tongue continued to play inside Naruto's mouth, reveling in the taste and texture of the blond. He tasted ramen, it was the source of the saline flavoring on Naruto's lips, but it was much more potent here. It wasn't disgusting. Sasuke didn't normally go for junk food, but the taste fit with the blond man's character like a hand into a tailor made glove.

Naruto trembled as Sasuke's tongue continued to skim and play with the inside of his mouth. _This was nothing like his first kiss eight years ago. This was unique, fresh, clean and new. He'd expected heat, expected domination and subjugation by submitting himself to this man. But that hadn't happened. He wasn't being forced, or coerced. In fact, the raven-haired man had given him every opportunity to walk away and now, when he had Naruto at his mercy, he took nothing more than the blond was willing to give._

Realization made his knees weak. _This kiss, this man, was seducing him…_

Hesitantly, carefully, Naruto closed his mouth around the Uchiha's questing tongue. Softly he sucked on the fleshy appendage. _His ex-girlfriend had done that once and he had liked it…so the blond figured that Sasuke might. Although that information was eight years old and fuzzy; Naruto wished that he'd plucked up his courage enough to actually research this. Then maybe he wouldn't be at a complete loss right now. Maybe he'd know how to tell the Uchiha that everything was okay now, to ignore his trembling limbs and just do it._

His errant thoughts were interrupted by a rather forceful thrust of hips against his own that had the blood literally singing in Naruto's veins. He released the raven's tongue and let out a startled gasp, which seemed to encourage Sasuke. The man's hips thrust once more, but this time more deeply, escalating the rhythm of Naruto's pulsing heartbeat.

"Do you feel it?" The Uchiha questioned, moving his pelvis against Naruto's in a progression of sharp pushes that had the blond going up in flames.

Everything changed; there was no softness in the raven's actions, only hard thrusting against Naruto's quickly hardening shaft. But that harshness did nothing to diminish the fire that had pooled sweetly in the blonds' stomach. If anything, the rough pressure was stoking it, bringing it to brilliant life with such intensity that it threatened to overwhelm him.

The air was filled with heavy panting and breathy moans, all from Naruto. The blond could feel the stretch and flex of each muscle through his thin T-shirt. It was admittedly strange to feel an even, toned chest instead of the plump fleshy mounds of a woman pressed into him. But it wasn't the bad odd, not anymore. It was a new odd, it was…unbelievable. Sasuke was incredible; just like he'd said...that morning. _So much for a week._

The blond trembled as milky-white fingers, which had up until now cupped his cheeks comfortingly, eased down his chest, fingernails pulling slightly at the cotton. Fingertips edged under the hem of his shirt, tickling along the sliver of tanned skin they had revealed just above the blonds' jeans. It prickled, delicate tongues of fire crept up Naruto's abdomen. He gasped and the fingers continued on their erotic journey up his chest, past his navel, slowly kneading clenching stomach muscles, trailing along the sweeping spiral of his tattoo. Long before Naruto had received his fill of those skilled digits, they were on the move once again, easing over a heaving pectoral.

The pinch caught him off guard as did the corresponding flash of heated pleasure which twisted inside his bloodstream, pulling another heated cry from his desire parted lips.

"Sasu-suke…wha-" Naruto hissed. Surprise and pleasure began mixing their own delicious cocktail that heated his blood and clouded his already hazy mind.

Surprise brought on reflexive action. He grabbed the raven's shirt with one hand, the material bunching at the shoulder as the blonds' other hand caught reflexively on Sasuke's teasing fingers, bringing the delightful twisting and tweaking to a sudden stop.

If Naruto were paying attention, he might've noticed the self-satisfied smirk which tinged the corners of Sasuke's mouth. But at the moment, superhuman vision or no, the blond was in no frame of mind to catch any sort of subtle details.

"Idiot…" The raven's hot breath caressed Naruto's ear. "Don't worry, just let the pleasure happen."

The Uzumaki nodded dumbly, his grip on Sasuke's playful hand loosening enough for the man to continue. Slowly, he let go of the raven's shirt and slid his palm up to grasp the back of Sasuke's neck. Short, silken strands of ebony brushed his fingers and the blond leaned forward.

Their mouths touched, brushed, feather-soft, and clung. This was it. He could not turn back now; he could no longer claim that this was all Sasuke's doing. This was him choosing, because this was starting to make sense.

The choice remained unspoken, a decision that lacked any verbal reinforcement, but the Uchiha seemed to understand perfectly.

The moonlight skin under his hand flexed as the raven started abusing the pert nipple once again. Naruto opened his mouth on Sasuke's to gasp at the tumultuous surge of warmth and bliss curling around his spine. The noise was swallowed whole by a searching tongue and a pair of conquering lips.

Naruto wasn't certain exactly what to do yet, for a moment all he could do was stand and accept the attentions. He was reveling in Sasuke, the man's taste, the texture of his tongue, the smooth polish of his teeth, the silken slick skin of the man's mouth; the passionate power of his kiss.

The blond swallowed, drawing on the flesh circling and caressing his mouth. The suction grew as Naruto's daring increased. Sauke liked this before, so if he did it more than…

The taste was inside of him, permeating his taste buds so he could take in no more; yet awakening within him such hunger for it that he knew he could never get enough. The man tasted like mint, but the flavor had been heated and was mixed with an unidentifiable tang that was purely Sasuke. The combination was heady and addicting. It typified this secret Sasuke, the one that the raven never showed anyone. Uchiha Sasuke, the man secreted and stashed just beneath the surface, was full of passion and emotion; Naruto could feel every separate, swirling sentiment in this man's kiss.

And 'merde' was the Uchiha kissing him. The blonds' head was reeling. New waves of hot power washed over him as the hand at his nipple began to twist and pull just as the raven's hips ground down with a mind shattering force.

It was just like his dream. Everything was white hot and bathed in radiant pleasure. But Naruto didn't have the time to savor the pleasure as Sasuke poured nuance after nuance onto the blonds' over-sensitized nerves.

Naruto swallowed again, savoring the thick, spicy drug that was Sasuke's taste. And then it was gone. The tongue which had touched and awakened his own was drawn out of his mouth and disappeared, leaving him with nothing but the lingering taste of mulled mint.

The blond opened his eyes. Oddly enough he hadn't even realized that he'd closed them until he'd had to force his lids up.

"What?" He managed. "What's wrong?"

He was being pulled, turned and then pushed backwards deeper into the blackness of Sasuke's bedroom. He understood what this wordless string of actions implied; where Sasuke was leading him.

Naruto allowed himself to be walked backwards towards the large bed which waited in the middle of the immense room..

It was a little strange to think that he'd lain on that bed, snuggled in its warmth, slept in its monstrous expanse, only last night. Tonight, he would be making use of it again, but for far more bohemian purposes than sleep.

Sasuke pushed on his shoulders with is fingertips, exerting the slightest pressure and Naruto's body followed, continuing to back up, farther in. At least, he tried to, but his calf caught on the side of the bed and he fell. His body hit the mattress a second later, swallowed in its softness and he simply lay.

A light flickered on from somewhere over to the side and the room was dimly revealed. Naruto slid his eyes open and his breath caught. Warm tendrils of light shimmered around them both, dancing around Uchiha Sasuke who stood over his prostrate form, a guardian angel, to perfect for words. And then the angel before him began to undress and Naruto could no longer breathe.

Slender, beautiful fingers reached under to pull away the restricting fabric of Sasuke's shirt, exposing a pale, perfect torso to suddenly and inexplicably hungry blue eyes. Coralline pools of radiant azure worshiped every inch of Sasuke's milky white skin; sliding over the sleek, yet firmly formed pectorals; the lithe torso studded with slim, wiry muscle. They glided down, past the set vertical line of the Uchiha's waist, down, down, down…to the slender hips bones graced with shadow and the impenetrable blockade of the man's dark jeans.

A bulge at the fly bore stark testament to Sasuke's arousal. Naruto felt heat beginning to creep across his face and down his neck. It was the thought that he had caused that…that…state and that he was in the exact same boat as the raven was more than he could fathom at the moment. Everything was so surreal, a dream. He was going to sleep with this man, tonight, now and then, afterwards…

Reality crashed down heavily on Naruto. _He was about to give himself to this man, to someone that he'd only known for a week. But what would happen afterwards, did he have any guarantees that Sasuke would let him stay beyond the night? And what if the raven turned him away after tonight? Was sense worth loneliness? Was Loniness worth making sense of this? It was no use, _Naruto realized_. He was no less confused than he was an hour ago._

Uchiha Sasuke looked down, his fathomless ebony eyes travelling the same path along Naruto's body that the blonds' own had taken only moments ago across the raven's pale body. A spark, a hint, a glimmer within the depths of those murky black eyes was all that the blond saw. The flicker of appreciation was all he got.

"Like something you see?" _He had no idea what to do. He had no clue how to tell Sasuke to hold on, to let him figure everything out all over again. He wanted this pleasure, but how could he look this man in the face and ask him what he wanted? How could he ask if the raven wanted anything more than just his body for tonight? _

"Get up." The Uchiha turned, his sock clad feet padding noiselessly to the door.

"What?" The heady glow of pleasure in his bloodstream was fading quickly. Naruto pushed himself onto his elbows and watched Sasuke reach for the doorknob. "That's it?" He was torn for a moment, trying to decide if he was grateful to Sasuke for pulling back while he was becoming steadily more unsure, or anger at the raven for doing the same when his body was screaming for more. "That's all I get?"

Sasuke was halfway out the door when he turned, one foot still planted firmly into the hall carpet. It was a signal, one which said in no uncertain terms that Sasuke had no indication of going back on his decision. The gaze he levied on the blond was iron-clad and impenetrable. "Get up." The raven repeated; his tone deadly.

Naruto felt humiliation rifle into him. The knowledge of what exactly had happened fueled that mortification. He'd just laid himself out like a food platter, a freaking virgin sacrifice and Sasuke was walking away from him like it was no big deal.

The blond rose unsteadily to his feet. He had to get out of here. _He had to go, get away from this man, from the shame Naruto would never be able to live down._

"Get yourself a coat from the closet next to the door," Sasuke was saying. "Find your shoes and-"

"I know!" Naruto yelled. His hands tightened into fists at his sides. _How could this guy be so cruel? Wasn't turning him down enough? The raven had to drive the point home by detailing how exactly Naruto should leave his house?_ "I get it you complete and utter bastard! I'm goin-"

"…wait for me." The Uchiha finished.

Both men stopped and stared at each other, one on disbelief, and the other…well, Naruto honestly couldn't decipher the emotions hiding behind Uchiha Sasuke's impenetrable mask.

"Excuse me?" He finally managed, staring owlishly at the raven.

The brunette's sigh was audible. He didn't repeat himself much as Boss Hebi. When he spoke, people tended to listen, and listen well. This blond moron, however, was focused on the perceived rejection and not in Sasuke's words; which meant that he would have to explain, which ought to have grated on his nerves. He found himself in more tolerance as far as the blond was concerned, odd, but useful, so Sasuke didn't question its source.

"You've ruined my shirt, usuratonkachi." The Uchiha said matter-of-factly. "You obviously didn't bring a coat or you would've been wearing it when you came through my door. I will need a small amount of time to select and don a replacement; the same amount of time, I estimate; that you will need to find a coat, and put on your shoes. When I am finished I will join you in the main entryway."

"But…" One pale hand had him by the shoulder and suddenly Naruto was looking blankly at Sasuke from inside the large hallway. "…I…don't…understand…"

The Uchiha let out his quickly becoming signature 'che' and took a step back inside his room. Just before the door closed, Sasuke said. "You've entered my home and forced yourself on me; I will have an explanation, Uzumaki Naruto."

**.X.**

He was standing dutifully next to the door when Sasuke arrived a minute later, dressed in a fresh, dark blue long-sleeve shirt.

Cobalt blue's followed the Uchiha as he reached into the nearby closet, wrapping his slender frame in a black, blue and white north face before pulling on his shoes.

"Are you ready?" Sasuke straightened up and looked Naruto over. Naruto, for his part, tried not to think about how else that phrase might be used…and failed.

"Y-yeah…" He cleared his throat and then asked. "Um, w-what's going on, Sasuke?"

"I'm giving you the chance to explain yourself." The raven said, heading out the door. "Not something I grant to everyone that pulls the stunt you just did."

He paused a few feet away, and glanced back over his shoulder, waiting for Naruto to fall in step beside him. The blond followed, shutting the door silently behind himself and keeping pace next to the Uchiha as they began to walk down the empty street.

The air was cool, but not unpleasantly so. If not for Sasuke's foresight in telling Naruto to grab one of his own many jackets, the conversation would have had to have been a lot shorter. And Naruto needed this discussion, Sasuke did as well, he was intelligent enough to recognize that, but not in the same way at all. Naruto was very dependent on emotions and for some reason, something had upset the careful balance he'd somehow established. The Uchiha wasn't so vain as to assume his own delicate forays into Naruto's life had been the sole cause. _It didn't account for the way Naruto had acted so completely out of character earlier._

_From the moment that Naruto forced his way into the raven's apartment, the brunette had known that something was wrong. Nothing had added up to any amount that Sauske was content with, it was the reason that he had backed off when the blond had been to obviously begging for it. And there had been that lingering look of panic in those open blue eyes, the look that he couldn't ignore. He'd gotten enough from the man's actions to surmise that something was bothering the Uzumaki, but finding out what that something was would require more on his part than simply screwing Naruto's brains out. He had to figure out what the problem was…because he couldn't rightly seduce the other man while he was so confused. That was it…That was all._

One night darkened city block disappeared behind them and then two more; neither spoke. It was getting late and they kept walking. Four blocks…five…six… It wasn't until the twelfth that Sasuke decided he'd had enough foreplay…as it were.

"What's wrong Naruto?" The words came out more gently than Sasuke had originally intended. _Perhaps the blonds' peculiar behavior was affecting him more than he thought._

"Promise you won't think it's stupid?"

It was a joke, and the Uchiha snorted in response. The tension was dissolving, for that he was grateful. But of what truths might be revealed in wake of that humor, Sasuke was uncertain.

"Nothing…makes sense to me anymore." Naruto said at last. He said it quietly, pausing after that first sentence as if waiting for Sasuke to spit out some insult and walk away from him. But the raven made no comment, walking steadily on, urging the blond to continue with his silence.

"I…feel something; I'm just not sure…what it is. I need to know what this is. I need to figure one thing out, or I'll go crazy. If I don't ground reality in something…I'll lose everything…" He was babbling, but it didn't matter. Everything was coming out and all that the blond could muster in response was: _at last_.

_He hadn't known, he hadn't thought about why, he'd simply allowed himself to react instinctively. He grabbed hold of the first solution that entered his befuddled brain. And now that the adrenaline had worn off; now that he had time to think about what he was doing, he was shocked…he was scared._

"You'll lose everything." The brunette repeated, his tone void of the skepticism Naruto would've received were he talking to Kiba, or Sakura, or any of his other friends. The man was asking a question and challenging his hyperbole at the same time.

Naruto stopped and faced Sasuke, the look in his eyes direct and serious, not something that the raven overlooked. The Uchiha took one more step and stopped as well, his gaze measuring as he waited.

"I've never had much." The blond said it quickly, because if he stopped to take a breath, he didn't know if he would be able to finish. "For the first half of my life, I didn't have anything to call my own; and no one to call me theirs. For years, that was all that I wanted, to be needed, to be wanted, to be the protector, not the one that needed protecting. I-" His voice cracked with emotion, but Naruto was too far in to care. "I got a family; years later, a father, someone who gave half a care about me, and I was happy. And then…" His voice and mind wavered as uncertainty crept through the befuddled pathways of thought. _How much could he tell Sasuke? How much could the raven handle?_

"I was forced to become the protector, the role that I had wanted, but not in the way that it did." Naruto shook his head. "But for years that was okay and I accepted my fate, trying my hardest to find my fulfillment in that destiny. And I did find it, or at least…I thought that I did." A strange kaleidoscope of emotions swirled in those twin pools of azure, too many for Sasuke to distinguish them all. "I was content with things…looking for that one missing component in my life, but happy with how everything had worked out…And then you happened."

The raven watched, wearily as Naruto brought one hand up to pinch and rub the bridge of his nose. "And now…I'm not sure if I can handle anything like this right now, I'm not sure if you're that missing piece. I don't know if I should even try to keep you here with me, if I'm just tempting fate. I need to figure out if I should just cut my losses and walk away before I get hurt again. And maybe I…attacked you because I wanted to know if what everything you said was true about your, um…skills" Naruto had the grace to blush a little. "…I wanted to know if it would be worth it, to give in to you."

"And…?"

The blond snorted and started walking again, this time leaving Sasuke to catch up, something that the grated against the raven's inbred inability to follow.

"As if you didn't already know the answer to that, jerk. …You had me at the first kiss…" _The admission had to have been difficult for someone so unapologetically bound by his ego._

"Still," The blonds' words were hesitant and he stared deliberately away from the raven as he continued. "I don't know if that's enough. We could be good…" He pondered the word choice for a moment. "…great…" The blond chuckled. "What the heck, we would be incredible in bed together…but…"The smile was gone. "…I made the mistake of confusing lust for love once and it nearly destroyed me."

Sasuke arched an eyebrow; he would have to speak to Naruto about his overuse of hyperbole, but later, when the blond was less stressed.

Neither man said anything for a moment. Both content, at least apathetically so, to continue their aimless walking; until at last, Sasuke breached the barrier once more.

"I understand Naruto," The brunette's voice was detached, but strangely, Naruto found comfort in this man's rough words, was soothed by the gentle rumbling baritone pouring into his ears. It was just as reassuring as one of Iruka's hugs.

"You want to know if I fit with your life." The hands in Sasuke's pockets tightened ever so slightly, balling into fists. He could hardly believe that he was saying this. "Then do. Do whatever you feel you have to. I won't stop you."

"Even if I decide that it won't work?"

Sasuke pinned him with the Uchiha equivalent to an incredulous look; it spoke volumes and Naruto understood every mono-syllable. It brought a flush of self-consciousness to the blonds face. _That's right, if all that the raven wanted was his backside, the man would've had it a million times by now, the blonds emotional well-being wouldn't have been his concern. They'd be up in his apartment…doing…Lord knew what._

Naruto found himself studying the cracks in the sidewalk intently. He felt awkward for his actions earlier…that was humiliating in hindsight…but that wasn't entirely where the guilt was coming from. He was embarrassed because he hadn't thought before he'd attacked the man next to him. He'd reacted instinctively, one side-effect that he might've been able to blame on Kyuubi, but he knew that it was his own fault.

Naruto's hand snaked up to rub the back of his neck.

"Hey, I was just thinking. I owe you…a…apology for earlier."

"You don't-"

"Don't interrupt me while I'm apologizing, you insensitive jerk!" The blonds quick switch from stand-offish to hopping mad was becoming easier for Sasuke to take in stride, almost disturbingly so.

"It's hard for such a perfect guy like me to admit that he's made a mistake. So just shut up for a second and let me finish!"

The Uchiha folded his arms across his chest…and waited, not pointing out the very obvious 'that's what she said' to the blond man's exclamation. He was an Uchiha, and Uchiha's did not…'that's what she said', they thought it on rare occasions, but never spoke it.

"Look I…um…I'm…" A light flickered on in Naruto's brain. "Weren't you going to take me to dinner or something tonight?"

"The reservation's past." Sasuke didn't bother checking his watch. They'd spent a fair amount of time occupied with their bizzare initiation foreplay. They had already walked a fair piece away from his apartment; he estimated that by the time they both got back to his house, drove to the restaurant he'd chosen, it would be far too late. Besides, he was a little curious to see if the blond would actually bring himself to apologize. Apparently his twisted sense of humor was still very much intact because he found himself subconsciously laying odds. Ironically enough, he wasn't putting money on anything verbal.

"Oh," Naruto wilted visibly and perked back up almost at once. "I've got an idea. How about I make it up to you by taking you out for a drink?"

"Are you sure you are comfortable with that?"

"Sure," Naruto shrugged off the question, but the raven could see the tension in the blonds shoulders beginning to unwind. No matter how much the other man denied it, the made a difference to him, to know that what he felt, his comfort, mattered enough for Sasuke to ask. The Uchiha was one step closer to his goal…of what?

_Lust…_

"Hn," The raven hummed softly to himself and slowed his pace, allowing Naruto to take the lead. "Then what are we waiting for?"

The blonds answering grin fairly glowed in the night.

"All right! This way."

**.XX.**

The place was small, tiny in fact. It was a miniscule square made of weather-worn aluminum siding; tucked snuggly into the corner of a side road and an alley.

The plain, poorly wielded iron sign above the door was once lit by twisting neon green tubes of light. Now only about half of the letters still worked, spelling out I-hir-u'- before Sasuke's narrowed eyes. An 's' on the very end flickered on and off, but the remaining letters stayed dark.

Several more signs glowed from out of windows made of old thirty year-old pieces of glass, advertising the poor man's popular beers.

Sasuke felt something akin to trepidation coil in the back of his mind.

"What is this?"

Naruto was already at the entrance, not put off whatsoever by the establishment's grungy exterior. The man flashed his doubtful counterpart one of his trademark easy smiles. "Ichiraku's," He said simply, as if it explained everything and motioned Sasuke to follow. "Come on."

The name meant nothing to Sasuke, but he'd walked for a good twenty minutes to get to this place. He might as well have a drink at the very least before he started the long trek back to his empty apartment.

_It didn't have to be empty tonight; _the man reminded himself and then immediately shut down that train of thought down. _He could've taken the blond and there wouldn't have been any question as to how willing or how much Naruto was enjoying every second. But come the morning…that was the rub. The blond would've bolted, and that was not what Sasuke wanted. He wanted a total conquest, complete domination. The man would beg him for it, stay and then beg for it again as soon as he woke up the next morning._

He could wait for that. Sasuke followed his blond through the door and into the warm light beyond. _He was an Uchiha; he knew patience. He could wait until Naruto came on his own and then…_

A knowing smirk graced the raven's pale perfect lips.

_And then, Naruto...you had best brace yourself._

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><p><strong>Author's note<strong>_: I had originally wrote: "Prepare yourself..." but, well, I think you understand._

_**Review! Review!** _

I stayed up for two nights straight just because I felt guilty leaving you guys in such a weird place. You slave drivers! The upside to that is that I also finished one of the essays that I had to do as my final project for one of my classes, so, yeah!

I'm working on chapter 14, like I said, no promise as to when, but I'm doing my best.

**TBC...**


	14. Chapter14: Everything You Never Knew

**Disclaimer: It's true, I don't own Naruto...I own Gaara, an I occasionally rent Kiba.**

**Since nobody reviewed on my last chapter, I'll just have to assume that you guys are all dead and I'm the only one left alive on the planet. 'Sigh' Well, that means I don't have anyone to thank this time around. SO THANKS FOR NOTHIN'...uh,...nobody?...**

**Anyway, on with the show...**

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><p><strong>Chapter_14: Everything You Never Knew<strong>

Walking into Ichiraku's was like walking into a Mother's open embrace for Naruto. It was exactly as he'd remembered. Nothing about it had changed, even in the two years he was away; every furnishing was in exactly the same place. The same old wooden bar, lovingly polished and painstakingly cleaned every night by the owner/barkeep, still held that temperate luster that spoke of many a drink poured and shared across its surface. The bar was still situated against the left side wall, which conveniently afforded a view of the rest of the room from behind it; not that there was much to see.

A lone, open grate brick hearth on the far wall was the source of the heat. Two couches, which had obviously seen better days, were positioned nearer to the exposed red coals; blocking most of the dull glow if not the radiating warmth. The remainder of limited floor space held one long pool table, the green felt threadbare, but no less lovingly maintenance. It was currently occupied by three men and one goodly underdressed woman.

Naruto smiled, seeing that pool table brought back so many pleasant memories. Many a long, lonely night was spent playing billiards at that very same table in those years before he'd ever met Iruka. He's gotten quite good at sneaking out of that orphanage over the years. Why he came to this third-rate bar/grill and not the gangs that were always on the prowl for new flesh was a minor miracle. But when he'd come in, shivering with cold and as hungry as a bear just waking up from hibernation, Teuchi treated him like royalty. He'd been sat down on one of those old couches, wrapped in a clean blanket and served the best meal he'd ever eaten in his life before or since then. He'd been addicted to Ichiraku ramen ever since.

Over the years, Naruto had played hundreds of games on that wooden relic. He knew the rules to eight ball, nine ball, straight pool, snooker, bank pool and cribbage pool and was good enough at them all to give even the best pools hustlers a run for their money.

"Uzumaki Naruto!" An astonished shout came from the bar. A rounded man with black hair and tanned skin was peering in disbelief at the pair who had just come in, more specifically, at Naruto. A slow smile spread across the man's leathery features as the blond crossed over to him, his own bright grin set firmly into place.

They clasped hands over the bar and for a moment, neither moved. They stood smiling warmly at each other, enjoying the sweetness of reunion.

"Hey, old man," Naruto answered easily, releasing the man's hand before taking a seat on one of the squeaky vinyl stools next to him. "It's nice to see you again."

The old man, apparently the owner and proprietor of this place, looked please. "I'm glad that you came back safe enough from your trip. I haven't sold half of the ramen that I did in the two years you were away than I did in one month when you were around. But now that you're back," Yes, Sasuke determined, the man was looking decidedly pleased with how this evening was turning out.

The old man's squinted brown eyes fixed on the raven. "And you've brought someone with you."

"Oh, yeah," Sasuke wondered how Naruto could forget about him so easily since the moron had brought him here in the first place.

"Uchiha Sasuke, this is one of the few great men left in the world and consequently the only one who can make ramen nirvana: Teuchi. Mr. Teuchi, this is Uchiha Sasuke, the cold heartedest jerk in all of Konoha, and my…" The blond paused. _My what? Friend? After what he they had just done not an hour ago? He couldn't say friends with benefits; that would just beg for way too many questions, questions that he wasn't sure how to answer himself._

"He's a…an acquaintance of mine." The Uzumaki finished lamely. He saw the old man's already sharply narrowed gaze tighten even more; Teuchi was one sharp old geezer, but the man obviously understood that asking directly for information on this particular subject would get him nowhere. So instead he nodded his polite acceptance of the adjective and stuck his hand out for Sasuke to shake. When the raven accepted the proffered appendage his smile grew warm. Whatever was going on between these two, they had his approval. He'd been working this job for forty years; he could tell the bad eggs from the good eggs and this Uchiha Sasuke…well, he couldn't rightly decide if the man fell into either category. There was something in the way that the man held himself, something in his handshake that made Teuchi think that he was on the fence about something, even if he himself didn't know what that something was, but it was not his job to pry, just to get his customers drinks and offer a sympathetic ear if one was needed.

"Uchiha Sasuke," He repeated, shaking the man's hand firmly. "Well, any 'acquaintance' of this wonderful young man is certainly welcome in my establishment any time."

"Thanks, old man." Naruto grinned his appreciation to the elderly bartender who returned the gesture with practiced ease.

"What can I get for you kids tonight; I doubt that you came all the way here just to reminisce."

"Well I'm showing Sasuke what good times there are to be had here in the very heart of Konoha, so we'll have to Rasen…wait, no! We'll have two curse seals and then two Rasengan chasers. Oh, and of course…"

"Two bowls of Miso Pork Ramen."

"One," Sasuke corrected, with steely resolution. Teuchi shrugged and moved away to get their drinks.

Naruto glared at the man seated silently beside himself. "Would it kill you to try something before you decide that you absolutely hate it?"

"Hn,"

The blond grit his teeth in annoyance. _He had to find himself a magic word that let him not answer questions when he didn't want to. It worked for the jerk, so why not him too? Because he wasn't a bastard, like the bastard was, that's why._

"Whatever, you're going to try what I put in front of you tonight and you're going to like it!"

"Idiot," Sasuke's eyebrow arched, but still the man refused to look at the man seated beside him. "You can't just say something like that and make it happen."

"Tonight I can."

"I didn't agree to."

Naruto's rude response was interrupted when two shot glasses were placed firmly in front of his crossed arms. He thanked the old man and slid a few bills over the smooth wood to him before pushing one of the shot glasses towards Sasuke.

The raven glanced at the dark liquid, swirling with wisps of electric blue.

"It's called a curse seal." _Naruto was staring at him again, measuring him with those vulnerable cobalt blue eyes, trying to gauge his reaction to the strange drink placed in front of him. He was trying to figure him out._

"Just try it, I promise that…that you've never tasted anything like this before."

_Well that sounded ominous_.

"Hn,"

"That's not a word, Teme!" Naruto growled, picking up his drink with two fingers and a thumb, swirling the viscous liquid inside slowly. He huffed, sending the raven a solid glare that had absolutely no effect on the other man whatsoever. _Okay, so superhuman glare was not among his impressive arsenal of superpowers, like he needed another one, but it would've been helpful right now._ He realized that he was getting nowhere very fast and it would be well into the next month before he had the raven anywhere near convinced to try a sip of his drink.

The blond growled unconsciously. He didn't like it when people were stubborn about stupid things. _It wasn't like the drink was going to kill Sasuke…probably not, so why was the jerk being so inflexible?_ Naruto's mind flashed back to the restaurant. _The raven sat in the exact same place every single time, always with his back against the wall, in the one seat in the entire place that could see everything at once. At 'Sound', Sasuke's private booth was open and exposed, but once again, his back was against the wall and situated so he could see everything going one around him. He like to control things, which Naruto was beginning to understand the more he was around the raven. He'd controlled every aspect of this weird relationship, he'd started it, pursued the blond and had even chosen when Naruto was pushing things 'too far' physically._ He couldn't believe that he was using that recent ordeal as an example, but he always did have a quick recovery time; for better or worse.

_Uchiha Sasuke liked to be in control. Okay, so that particular character trait wasn't exactly hidden_, but for the Uzumaki, it was a little piece of Sasuke that he'd figured out on his own. A little factoid that the raven hadn't shared with him, _not that the bastard was prone to sharing things…_

He grinned again. _That was number two that he'd figured out on his own! Man he was on a roll!_ But the question of how to get Sasuke to try his shot was still prevalent. _How could he convince a control happy jerk to take a leap? How had Iruka always managed to convince him that vegetables weren't of the devil? Oh, yeah! He'd offered to take him out for ice cream afterwards. So maybe if he offered Sasuke some 'dessert' if he tried the drink, it might persuade the raven to relent. But what would Sasuke want?_ The blond found that he had no answer. He had no idea what the brunette liked and didn't like. Another brilliant epiphany widened the grin that was already threatening to overtake his entire face. If he offered Sasuke a 'blank check' for anything he wanted later on, he'd be able to find out something that the man liked when he cashed the card in! It was a genius idea. Naruto couldn't believe that he hadn't thought of it sooner!

"Hey, you know," The blond started swirling his drink around again, trying to sound as innocent as he could. "If you really don't want to drink it, you don't have to."

Sasuke glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. _Oh, yeah_, Naruto did a mental fist pump. _He totally had this in the basket._

"But if you did, it would be really cool of you. In fact…" He raised the glass to his nose and took a quick sniff, shuddering as the alcohol's cloying scent punched into him. "…I might be willing to offer you a…" _Was prize the right word? He's had one in mind, but now he couldn't think of it._

"A boon?"

_Why was it that Sasuke was always the one with the answers? Oh, well, it didn't matter since he'd gotten his message across._

"Yup,"

**.XX.**

_It was one shot. Why did it matter so much to Naruto? It obviously did, since the blond was quick to promise him anything that he wanted just so he would drink the stupid thing. _

The raven glanced at the churning black fluid. _It was one shot_. _In exchange for a boon, whatever he wanted...once._ _Chikushou, Naruto had absolutely no idea how he was tempting him._

"One shot,"

"Yup," The blond wouldn't have been grinning if he'd known what exactly the raven wanted as his 'boon' to be. If fact, Sasuke had a very good idea that the blond would run away screaming if he had any idea of what Uchiha Sasuke wanted to do to and with him…once…

The Uchiha's mind worked quickly. _This might work to his advantage as well. Naruto was obviously not thinking in sexual terms; otherwise he would never have offered the other man anything that he wanted in exchange for this little drink. But that didn't mean that the man couldn't be coerced into changing his train of thought, when the appropriate time came of course. For now, he would have to make sure that the blond man's hands were as tied as they possibly could be._

Sasuke shoved **that** errant mental picture aside for the moment. As delicious as it was; he needed to focus on the task at hand, _chikushou._

"Anything that I want, anytime that I want it, no complaints, excuses, substitutions or alterations of the request and any of it subsequent details can be made once the request has been formally stated."

"Jeez, you're picky."

"I'm specific about the agreements that I make, there's a difference."

The blond huffed. His head tilted to one side as if considering the man's terms and then nodded. "Yeah, fine, that sounds reasonable and all that I guess. Just drink the stupid shot, Teme."

Sasuke picked up the tiny glass with two fingers, inspecting the still churning blackness inside. _What alcohol roiled and twisted like that and did he seriously want to put something like that into his system?_ He took one final glance to the blond next to him. The idiot was watching with rapped attention, his face excited and eager.

_Oh, yeah…_

"On the count of three," Naruto instructed, altogether too cheerfully. "One…two…t- oh hey, one more thing!"

Sasuke tried to look as dignified as he could; jerking the glass away from his parted lips. He wasn't sure how successful he was and glared his blame directly into the blonds' soul. Said blond only chuckled and began rubbing the back of his neck. _Idiot_.

"I was just going to say, don't let it touch your tongue."

_What?_

"One, two, three!"

Putting aside his better judgment, the raven tossed back the drink and immediately regretted it. His entire world erupted into liquid energy, pulsing, sweating, and painful. The shot burned down his throat with the finesse and subtly of tiger's claws tearing out his larynx.

He swore that he could actually feel the roiling liquid pool into the very pit of his stomach, creating a slow unpleasant burn that was making it very difficult for the Uchiha not to purge his system.

His jaw began to ache and Sasuke realized that he was gritting his teeth. But try as he might, the muscles refused to respond to his commands to loosen.

A droplet of sweat trickled hotly down his forehead, another side affect, the raven supposed, of the nauseous burn in his stomach and the revolting drink.

With a heavy rush, Sasuke opened his eyes and took a slow steady breath. To his satisfaction, he had remained upright and the only indication of the alcohol's unpleasant affects was the slight sheen of sweat which coated his forehead. He quickly and calmly wiped any remaining traces away with the back of one hand. He was curious as to how Naruto had faired against that poisoned beverage.

The blond was literally sprawled across the bar top, the now empty shot glass in one hand. He wasn't moving. Sasuke didn't even see the man's shoulder blades rise and fall for breath. And then suddenly the blond straightened, forcing his body upright with a hulking gasp.

"T-that…wa-s…ah…awesome!" Naruto panted, that stupid grin plastered to his face as he wiped the heavy sweat off of his forehead with the back of one hand.

"Hn," Sasuke really wasn't in the mood to contradict the blond bonehead. He had his boon, and he was satisfied with that, despite the unpleasantness of the drink he had just imbibed. He consoled his revolting stomach with ideas of what he might use his gained privilege to force Uzumaki Naruto into.

He was pondering the advantages of ropes and gags when the blond man's hand clapped him on the shoulder. Sasuke turned his head. Naruto's grin had diminished somewhat and the blond rolled his eyes dramatically at his companions' noncommittal response. But Naruto's expression brightened immediately when old man Teuchi came over. The man set down two mugs for mugs of beer and left against to attend to his other guests.

"Okay," Naruto's hand left Sasuke's shoulder to reach for the second drink. Once he had it gripped firmly in his fingers He turned expectantly to Sasuke and found that the raven was still watching him, completely ignoring the proffered beverage.

"What?"

The Uchiha said nothing, simply…watching.

Naruto felt the beginnings of a flush spreading across the bridge of his nose. That always seemed to happen when he and Sasuke made direct eye contact. There was just something about the way that that guy would look at him, like he knew everything that was going through his head just as he was thinking or feeling it. It was odd. Naruto felt exposed, but not in a threatening, naked way, but in the liberating confidences sort of way; if that made any sense whatsoever.

Naruto peered back into those twin pools of utter darkness and for a second, it seemed that the link, that weird empathic connection went both ways. He could read every emotion that the man was feeling; every hidden nuance in his face and for that instant, the Uchiha's bland expression suddenly wasn't so mild. He was being cautious. He hadn't enjoyed the first shot, and now he was going to wait and watch and see how Naruto reacted to this newly introduced beverage before he drank any of it.

And then the raven was blinking, fixing his obsidian gaze on the pint of Rasengan beer. Naruto followed suit, blinking at the sudden loss of the intimate connection. _What the heck had brought on that unexpected onslaught of mindreading capabilities? Was it some weird new ability of Kyuubi's that's waited until now to reveal itself? Or had he simply imagined it?_

"It's called a Rasengan." Naruto said finally. Sasuke made no indication that he had heard the blond at all, but he had. He was still waiting.

"It's better than the last one."

Nothing.

"Just try one sip."

Not even an involuntary facial twitch. _He wouldn't have something so imperfect in his genetic code._ Naruto thought sarcastically. _He'd probably invent some sort of laser technology and delete it from his DNA as soon as he found out about the flaw._

Another idea popped into the blonds' head. What if he offered another…poon…? Another, whatever-the-heck-he-wants, to the raven? That might convince him to try and Naruto would get another idea about what the unreadable guy liked.

"If you take a sip, you can have another of those: whatever you want things."

There, Naruto saw it, the slightest twitch on one ear. It was faint, but the blond knew that he had Sasuke's attention. It wasn't enough to convince him though.

"How about two more?"

"Hn,"

The Uzumaki's grin was triumphant. He was sure that anyone who was or had been eavesdropping on the exchange wouldn't have understood the magnitude of that small sound the raven-haired male had just emitted. But Naruto understood what breaking through the ice really implied: he had piqued the man's interest.

"And I'll even take a drink first, just 'cause I'm a nice guy like that."

Sasuke leaned back, his eyes flicking slowly between Naruto and the drink on the bar top, which was slowly gathering moisture at its base.

"Same terms as before, two more, separate, boons; anything that I want, anytime that I want it."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto rolled his eyes and reached for the mugs' thick handle. "It's a good thing I'm such a nice person, or else I might get annoyed with all of your negotiating terms and crap."

"Hn,"

The blond sighed heavily and closed his eyes, drawing the mug to his lips. Lids slid shut and lips parted; Naruto tilted the glass to take in that first sweet sip. The smooth slide of the cool glass pressed against his bottom lip and then he was taking his in the beautiful taste of Rasengan for the first time in two years. It was heavenly. As bitter and awful as the shot before it had been, this beer was light and smooth and strong. The first time he'd tasted it, almost three years ago, he'd described it as drinking liquid gold. The description still fit.

Naruto swallowed and eased the mug almost mournfully away from his mouth. He'd have plenty of time to savor later; for now he was just proving that the drink was palatable.

He swung his head over to the Uchiha. "It's your turn."

With less reluctance than one might have expected; the raven took up his own glass.

Lids, as pale as the man's eyes were dark, slid shut, hiding those mesmerizing spheres of flawless ebony from view. In slow motion lips parted, they were colored a soft rose, not white, like the rest of Sasuke's skin. They were slender, but, as the clear glass pressed down onto them, anyone with eyes could see that they were comfortable as pillows. The tip of a light pink tongue was visible through the glass as it crept up unconsciously touch the rim of the glass. Sasuke's slim throat worked when the man swallowed, the Adam's apple dipping down and then up once and then once more.

Naruto jerked in surprise when he realized that he had been watching. The blond mentally smacked his forehead and tried his best to school his features back into their previous, eager, expression. _Only Uchiha Sasuke could make something as simple as taking a drink 'sexy'. It just wasn't fair._

When the raven's eyelids slipped open there was a split second that Naruto would've sworn the look in his eyes was…appreciative. But when Sauske turned his attention fully on the blond, any trace of 'appreciation' or any other emotion was wiped completely from his countenance. But that wasn't going to convince the Uzumaki that he hadn't seen what he'd seen. Sasuke liked Rasengan and that was that.

"Well, its good isn't it?" The blond taunted. "Good enough for a second drink?"

The brunette arched an eyebrow and Naruto knew that the man's pride had been challenged. Sasuke knew that he knew that he had enjoyed the drink, but the man had more pride than was good for him. For the next three hours, Sasuke's drink remained untouched.

**.XX.**

"So your family has lived in Konoha for forever?"

Sasuke nodded.

Naruto took a long pull, finishing the dregs of his third pint of the evening. Although, Rasengan really didn't have dregs; it was good to the last drop. "That's so cool. You're part of a…legocy."

"Legacy,"

The blond furrowed his brows. _He rarely drank Curse Seal's; he figured out quickly enough after his twenty-first birthday that the stupid shot had way more alcohol packed into those four fluid ounces then most beer did in two pints. And as far as that went, the Rasengan wasn't exactly 'light drinking' either. Thankfully, he could hold his liquor, lost of practice had given him a strong s-s-stomach._

_He ignored the Uchiha's rude and incorrect correction of his pronunciation; anyway, he was pretty sure that the raven was just jealous because he hadn't thought of the word himself._

"Hey, old man Teuchi; another Rasengan, over here!"

The owner gave his boisterous customer a warm smile and headed over to mix the blonds' next drink.

"Now then," Naruto whipped around to face the still placid faced Uchiha. They had actually been talking for the better part of a half hour, nicely enough, the blond supposed. It wasn't like Sasuke was the best conversationalist in the world…city…this bar…oaky, between him and Naruto, the Uzumaki was sure that he would've won, hands down.

"You're parents and, their parents and their parents and whatever, were all around forever ago. Did you guys have 'Sound' forever ago too?"

Sasuke was silent a moment and when he answered, his voice was careful, measured, _although, wasn't it always?_

"I inherited the family business when my parents died, yes."

_Oh, crap, Sasuke's parents were dead_. Naruto felt like ten kinds of slime with his unconscious poking and prodding of the tender subject. But now that he knew, it did explain a few things, like why the raven didn't have any family pictures or anything like that hanging around in his apartment. Although, that piece of information was a little less satisfying than the others had been. "Sorry, I didn't know."

"Don't punish yourself." The Uchiha's eyes showed no pain as he dismissed the blonds' implied concern. "I've had years to acclimate myself with their death. It no longer troubles me."

"But…" Naruto bit his lip. _He'd been about to say that his parents had died and he cared, but stopped. He didn't really have room to contradict Sasuke's statement of apathy. After all, he had never met his parents, never known them, heard their voices, felt the touch of his mother's hand on his cheek; never seen his father's glowing look of pride. How could you miss something that you didn't remember?_

"How long?" He heard himself ask.

Sasuke's eyes peered almost inquisitively at him and Naruto's voice emerged again, as if of its own volition. "How long has it been? How old were you, when…" He trailed off and the blond averted his eyes. _He couldn't believe that he was still on this awkward subject; he was going to get punched. All because he'd had just a little too much and he was curious about the self-contained jerk and maybe, just maybe because Sasuke could understand a little of what he was struggling with. But asking things so bluntly was a bad idea. He didn't like being so brazenly obtrusive about things that people didn't like talking about. He was going to get decked for sure!_

"Six,"

Naruto's eyes went wide.

"I was six when they were killed."

"Do you…'member them?" Naruto didn't trust himself to look at the Uchiha. _He was a little afraid that this was just a figment of his imagination and as soon as he checked, he would find the other man staring coldly at him. A small part of him, the only piece of his mind that wasn't afraid of breaking the illusion was amazed that Sasuke was willingly sharing all this about his intimate past._

The pause was long. Finally Sasuke took a deep breath. "Enough,"

"Enough fer wha...?"

"Here's your Rasengan!" Teuchi came up and plunked down the blonds' third drink that hour.

"Thanks," Naruto mumbled, pushing his money across the bar. The old man smiled as he picked up the crisp bills and moved off once more, but it was too late now, the mood, whatever weird zone the pair of them had been in during that whole odd exchange was completely and effectively gone. And Naruto had absolutely no idea how to get it back.

Dejectedly, the blond sipped his liquor.

"You seem to know each other very well."

"Hm?" Blue eyes rolled to the raven seated at this right. Sasuke was watching Teuchi as the older man stood talking to one of the few other customers at the other side of the bar.

"Old man Teuchi? Yeah, we've known each other since I was…like twe've or somethin'. He taugh' me how to play pool, poker, fed me ramen."

"The essentials of life,"

"Shut up, bastard!" Naruto growled, half serious; wondering when the Uchiha had ever been sarcastic with him verbally._ It was always in an arched eyebrow, or a snort, never words or out loud. Maybe it was a sign that the man was getting comfortable around him enough to express his sarcasm verbally, or it might be a sign that he was just getting drunk._

"He was nice to me. And when you grow up in a place where no one gives a crap about you, an adult that gives...h'a crap if you come back around is pretty cool."

"I can't imagine the proctors at the orphanage were thrilled about your trips here."

"They never found out." Naruto admitted, a rogue glint shining in his eye. "I was too good at sneaking out to get caught by thoose guys; they were always half-asleep anyway."

His smile diminished some. "But it wasn't their fault. They were just really overworked and they never got any sleep. The younger kids were always crying, having nightmares and wanting their parents, so the peh...ple never slept all the way through the night."

Sasuke didn't comment on how much it sounded like Naruto hadn't done a lot of sleeping at nights either. _Of course if the Uchiha asked, Naruto hadn't been the child that was up crying for his parents either. Naruto would never admit that, not even to himself._

"No one's blaming them. You're still alive after all."

"Yeah," Naruto sighed, taking a large pull from his mug. He didn't stop until half of the glass's contents were gone. "I guess that I'm lucky aren't I?"

Sasuke could feel his eyebrows furrowing. The blond wore an expression he had never seen on his face before: sadness, mixed with sober pondering. The blond was thinking, but about something that he had thought about many times before and which brought him little joy.

"You know, I've always wondered." Naruto's voice was quiet, somber, if not a bit halted because of the alcohol. "Why did they leave me alive? Was it to punish me? Was it to send a message? Was it just because they ran out of time before the cops showed up? Was it so they could watch me grow up alone, just for their own, sick pleasure?"

The blond didn't allow for any words when he paused to breathe. He shook his head and drank again.

"I wish that I knew; I w-wish tha…I had a clue. I wish that I had somethin... I wish sometimes...that they had kill-t me too, so I wouldn't be here, wishing that I had something of theirs to hold onto, any sh-w-red of memory that would hold me to them, that would help me know them at all. And you know, at least if I were dead, I'd be in the same place as they were. I'd know."

Somewhere in the middle, they had stopped talking about the gang. It was the blonds' parents which held the forefront of conversation.

Sasuke watched as the blond emptied his fifth pint and set it unsteadily down on the wood. When Naruto started talking again, his voice was shaking, not crying, but certainly a good deal away from controlled.

"But ev-w-ry time I try, I can't come up with anythin'. I don't have anythin...g, not even little happ...happ...e feelin, or kin...ness; no warm'h, no voices. I get nothing…"

The blonds' eyes had closed and he was growling.

"My parents are gone and I have nothing left of them to even feel sorrow for."

"Don't do that to yourself." The Uchiha's voice was stern, final. "Don't manufacture guilt for something you had no control over, that will only compound your problems."

It was Naruto's turn to open his eyes. He stared at the raven's untouched mug of Rasengan, ignoring the Uchiha. "What do you know?"

Neither man said anything after that. Neither could force their pride down enough to admit that he knew better than a lot of people would, or that he other might be right.

"Listen, I..um, I've got to go." Naruto murmured, pretending to look at his watch. "I've, go…t work tomor…tomor…row…"

"Then I'll walk you home." Sasuke stood and reached for his jacket.

Naruto waved for him to sit back down. "I can get hom…all by myselv…"

"Because you're so sober at the moment."

"I'm juss…tired is all." The blond insisted, pushing unsteadily to his feet. He pointed to the raven's now warm beer still sitting undisturbed on the bar. "Are you gonna finishhh that?"

Before Sasuke could say either way, Naruto had grabbed the mug and was chugging the whole thing. And then the blond was gone, bumbling outside with a misdirected wave goodbye and a mumbled 'Abiyo' to Teuchi. Of course the man also forgot his borrowed jacket, but it mattered little to the Uzumaki in his current state.

Nothing really mattered to Naruto at the moment, besides getting away; he wasn't even sure what it was he was trying to get away from. But when he stumbled and a hand clasped around his bicep to keep him from falling flat on his face, Naruto knew that whatever it was had caught up to him.

"Idiot," He heard the voice from somewhere far off in the haze surrounding his muddled brain. "Don't keep running around in the cold without a coat." It was a silky, sexy voice. Even as it threw out the insult, Naruto could hear the underlying concern.

Something warm wrapped around his shoulder and distantly the blond realized that he had been shivering. _What a nice thing for the voice to do._

"Th…hanks," Naruto wished that he could remember who that nice voice belonged to. Such a nice person to bring him a coat and be concerned that he didn't run around without it. Such a nice voice…

"Idiot," The nice voice repeated and the hand around his bicep tightened. "I'm taking you home."

"For yer infoo-mation; I am going home all by myself. I'm a grew up…"

The voice made a snorting sound, like it didn't believe that he could do any such thing. _Maybe the voice wasn't so nice after all._

"Fine, then which way is home?"

"Thisss way…" Naruto started off, surprisingly enough in the correct direction. Of course after years of navigating the city by night while under the guise of Kyuubi and with nothing to guide him but his acute sense of smell, Naruto, even dead drunk could find his way home. The current problem was trying to get his feet to take him there. He stumbled once, staggered gamely on for about a half a city block and then tripped on his own feet.

The same hand reached out and gripped under his armpit before he could face plant…again. _Maybe the voice was nice after all…_

"Just tell me where to go."

**.XX.**

They had made it. Sasuke had to admit that he had agreed to lead the blond with some skepticism. He was almost certain that they were going to wind up spending the night at his apartment again. But the blond had somehow, through that thick mist floating around his already questionably lucid brain, found his way to his apartment.

It had been one of the few details that Sasuke had decided not to look into. The location of an apartment was something learned through the course of a relationship, not something gleaned from intelligence reports. And now, he knew exactly where Uzumaki Naruto lived. There was little doubt in the Uchiha's mind that this wasn't where the blond hung his hat. One, because it was a mess, clothing was strewn almost literally everywhere. Two, the smell of stale ramen was coming from the kitchen, a food that he now associated completely to the blond man for...obvious and intimate reasons. Three, as soon as they had approached the door, the blond he had been supporting knew exactly where the key was hidden, under a fake potted plant set next to the door. This was the bachelor pad of one Uzumaki Naruto; and what a sad sight it was.

Sasuke had to kick piles of rumpled clothing out of the badly buzzed blonds' path three separate times before he could actually deposited his burden onto the wrinkled sheets of his bed.

Naruto snuggled into the mess of covers, still fully clothed and wrapped in the coat he'd borrowed earlier that night.

The raven took a deep, bracing breath and knelt on the blonds' too firm mattress. He tugged off the man's shoes before heading upwards to retrieve his coat.

Rolling the blond onto his side, he found, was easier said than done. When asleep, the blond was dead to the world and was about as easy to pick up as a napping cat(1). It took Sasuke a good four tries before he got the moron to ease up on one side enough so he could slide the arm of the heavy jacket off of the man's arm.

The next side was harder because he's already moved Naruto slightly to one side, so he had farther to move the dead weight before he could try slipping the garment off.

He was about ready to leave the coat with the blond and come back for it later when the blond took a deep steady breath, stretched and opened his eyes.

Sasuke stopped, realizing what a precarious position he was in, on one knee, leaning over the blonds' body, trying to pull the man towards himself and onto his side. But Naruto's bleary eyes held no accusation as they looked up and into the raven's deep, mesmerizing eyes.

"Hey," The man's speech was less slurred than it had been only an hour before, _odd_. But Sasuke had no time to analyze details. He'd been caught off guard, not something that he enjoyed, but thankfully something that the blond man under him wouldn't remember come morning.

"Hello,"

"I think…" Naruto took another deep breath and stretched. Sasuke documented the taut play of musculature against the cloth stretched over the blonds' toned chest and firm belly.

"I think that I must've said something to you tonight that I didn't mean to."

At first the raven thought he was talking about the incident in his apartment. But as the blond continued his ramblings, he grew less sure.

"I never told anyone 'bout that. Not even m' f'ster dad. Not really sure why I tol' you." Bronzed fingers grazed one pale cheek, tracing the smooth planes of the Uchiha's flawless skin. They coasted upwards, trailing the very edge of Sasuke's temple before the hand turned to cradle the side of the raven's face, his thumb brushing gently at the outside corner of the other man's almond-shaped eye.

"Maybe it..s 'cuss…you have the same eyes as me…"

Naruto's hand continued to stroke the skin of Sasuke's cheek, with something akin to tenderness in both action and expression. The raven reminded himself that the man was buzzed and out of his mind, saying things that he didn't mean, _or didn't mean for anyone to hear_.

'_Maybe it..s 'cuss…you have the same eyes as me…'_

"You have n-nice feeling face…" The blonds' new mumblings brought Sasuke out from the land of reverie. The man's hand other hand had joined its mate, stroking the raven's white face with gentle sweeps. "You're…be-ootiful, but you n-know that. You can be nice too…if you don…t let your big h-head get in the way."

Sasuke tried to stop the flow of words, "Naruto," But the blond was still too far into his own hazy world to take notice of the raven's words.

"Like too-night…you didn…do 'nything, I would hah-ve, but you didn't. And you made s-sure that I made it home okay…tha' I was warm an' safe an'…" Naruto's hands were pulling him closer, strangely strong for how inebriated the man was. Sasuke leaned down, finding that he lacked the desire to pull away to break the surrealism this man had cast upon him quite by accident, until he could feel the hot puff of the Uzumaki's breath against his jaw and a pair of cloudy azure skies were inches from his own.

"I th-think that I might…be able…t-oo fall in l-love with you." The man's eyes went wide at his own admission.

"Naruto," But the blond was lost to the world once more. His hands slipped away from the pale man's face, flopping against his chest as he squirmed in lazy unconscious in an effort to find a more comfortable position on his hard bed.

He never heard the Uchiha's soft whispered "usuratonkachi," that was breathed against his lips. He never felt the soft rose colored pillows which he had studied so intently that night brush softly against his own. He never heard the pad of feet moving to his door, or the soft click of it shutting. He never heard his cell phone vibrate atop his dresser, or the worried message left by an anxious foster father.

"_Naruto, its Iruka. I know that it's late, but I need to talk to you about something. It's important. Hello? ...Well as soon as you get this message call me back...but...if you can't...I'll be waiting for you at Konagakure Park tomorrow at three o'clock at out old park bench. Be well and…be safe. Goodnight."_

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><p><strong>Author's Note: I actually have one this time!<strong>

**1. Have you ever tried to pick up a sleeping cat? It's like they've become hot rubber or something. They just don't stay in your arms, they sort of...ooze out and back onto he floor. It's weird.**

**Anyway, Two more test and I am finished with college this semester! Woot! But I will by no means neglect you all over the Break, on the condition of course that you _REVIEW!_**

**Hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

**Until next time...**


	15. Chapter15: Help

**Disclaimer: I own it in my own sweet way. But not Kisame, or Kabuto, Kishimoto can have them both.**

**Thanks reviewers!**

**S i l e n t .M u s i c. B o x: I'm glad that the transition was fluid, I was a little worried that it might seem a tad too melodramatic. Yes, you are going to need lots of tissues come the SASUNARU love chapter, yes, I say chapter, because it will be a whole chapter of nothing but hot man luvin' ;)**

**Fireotaku18: Totally cool, I understand computer malfunctions. Thanks for telling me.**

**PaInTiNg-ThE-aPocAlYpCe: Yey!**

**xXOtherAliceXx: You're going to get pleanty of the alter ego's. Hee, hee, hee**

**Onwards!**

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><p><strong>Chapter_15: Help<strong>

He hated waking up with a hangover, but what was worse was the fact that Naruto was pretty sure he hadn't even gotten to do anything fun while he was under the influence; which was such a waste. When did the best things in life happen? When you were completely bomb-shelled out of your mind. Why? Because you had a built in excuse to do things that you wouldn't even think about doing when you were in full procession of all your marbles.

Ah, well, not that it mattered much now; it was the morning now and he had to deal with his hangover, not missed opportunities. Although, all he would need to cure his hangover symptoms was a few headache meds and a good night's sleep. All he ever got after a good night of drinking was never any more than a slight headache.

It wasn't until he'd started drinking with Iruka that he found out what a 'real' hangover was. It irritated and confounded Naruto's foster father at the same time that his son received such pithy consequences for his overindulgent drinking. It confused Naruto as well, he wasn't sure why or how it was his headaches weren't worse, or why he was never nauseous come morning; not that he wasn't grateful. He's often wondered if maybe it was a side-effect of his supernatural powers, or his hyped up metabolism. Maybe there was no real reason and he just couldn't stay drunk.

The blond sat up and stretched…and then frowned. He _didn't remember walking home, or taking his shoes off._ _But he must've done both somehow, obviously because, well, he was here._

Naruto yawned and tossed his legs over the side to plant his stocking clad feet firmly on the…_clean floor?_ _The only times that his floor was clean was the day after he did laundry and he definitely didn't remember doing the laundry. Unless he had done the laundry after he'd gotten home. How pathetic was that? Doing your laundry while you were drunk had to be hitting some kind of social low._

He rose and sauntered over to his kitchen. It too had been cleaned. The dishes were washed and put away in the cupboard, the sink and counters cleaned.

Naruto whistled the twilight zone theme while he opened a nearby cupboard and fished out a bottle of Tylenol. He swallowed three pills dry and put the bottle back. The next order of business it seemed, was getting something to eat, he was hungry, besides; taking medication of any kind on an empty stomach was bad news and Naruto hated throwing up.

It was a satisfied and full blond that left the kitchen twenty minutes later, a new stack of dirty dishes piled into the sink. Though now that he was no longer hungry, questions were cropping up left and right and Naruto was a little worried about their answers.

_How had he gotten home? Okay, so that one wasn't so difficult to figure out. So Sasuke had gotten him here and so by the same logic, the raven must've been the one who took off his shoes and…cleaned his apartment, seriously?_

_The cleanliness totally fit, he'd seen the guys apartment after all, it was spotless, like no one actually lived there…weird. But the rest of it didn't work, it wasn't all that hard to believe, except that the idea of Uchiha Sasuke standing over a sink, doing his dishes was just too bizarre. He couldn't even keep the image in his head for more than about two second without snorting, it was just wrong._

_So, mystery person cleans apartment; someone who liked things neat and tidy and organized; someone who knew where he kept his key; someone who knew where he lived. He already ruled out the Uchiha, Kiba was less organized than he was, Sakura wouldn't be caught dead one square city block away from his pad, let alone inside of it, which left only…_

_Iruka!_

Naruto snapped his fingers. _That was it! Every time his foster father had come over for a visit (both times) the man had pestered him about trying to keep things cleaner and hot breeding infectious viruses in the moldy trap of boxers which had been hiding under the blonds bed. That had been an exaggeration, not a total one, but Naruto had made sure that the filth wasn't everywhere, just in the more out of the way places._

_It would be just like the brunette to come over and clean while he was gone. The man was such a: Mr. Mom it wasn't even funny sometimes._

The blond reached over and nabbed his phone from where it laid one the night-side stand. He frowned.

_Speak of the devil…_his screen blazed to life, the image of an unopened envelope floating in midair with the word: Missed call from: Dad, underneath. _Apparently he'd missed a call from Iruka._ His phone vibrated again and the words under the image changed: 1 voicemail. _Okay, so Iruka had left him a message too. It was probably a warning to Naruto not to have a total freak out when he saw his newly cleaned apartment._

He punched in the speed dial for voice mail and waited…

"Naruto, its Iruka..." The blond's already furrowed brow deepened. _Something was wrong; he could hear the quiver in his father's voice._ "… I need to talk to you about something. It's important…" _And he couldn't talk about it over the phone?_ "…I'll be waiting for you at the old park tomorrow at three o'clock. Do you remember our park bench? I'll be waiting there. Be well..."

Naruto didn't even listen to the rest of the message; he had already tossed his phone down onto the cushion of his unmade bed. He's never gotten dressed so fast in his life. Something was wrong, his father was afraid of something, what, why? And what was it that he had to tell Naruto that was so secret and important that he couldn't or wouldn't talk about it over the phone?

His alarm went off. Naruto glanced at this clock and cursed. _He had work today from noon until closing tonight__, today of all days. He'd have to call and find somebody to cover for him._

The blond grabbed his phone, shoving feet into shoes and tossing on a coat before running out the door.

.:xXXx:.

"It was really weird," The bleached blond shrugged. "It was like the guy was having some kind of weird mid-life crisis/ identity conflict hybrid."

"You'd know all about that wouldn't you, Suigetsu?"

The gunman turned on the redhead who had spoken. "Shut up you whore!"

From her position on the large leather sofa a few feet removed from her on-again off-again lover, Karin stuck her tongue out. "You'd know all about whores, you pimp."

Sasuke leaned back in his chair and waited for the maelstrom to die down. _This was something unanticipated. From all his lieutenant had told him, Kyuubi wasn't responding well to the constraints of his agreement; something that didn't bode well for Hebi. If the superhero decided that this bargain with Hebi was compromising his morals, he might decide that he was going to stop playing nice which was a choice that Sasuke could not allow._ _He had to intervene…again. This would mean very late nights, little sleep, less personal time, no…__blond, chikushou._ This was getting ridiculous, he was just starting the get Naruto acclimated to the situation and now it seemed that he might have to abandon the venture altogether. Sasuke frowned almost imperceptibly; he didn't like expending resources without any returns to show for it.

Karin and Suigetsu were still bickering wildly back and forth, their insults having moved from Suigetsu's connoisseurship of harlots to his pathetic manhood and her lax bust size.

Sasuke laced his fingers together, resting the knuckle of one pointer against his upper lip. _Perhaps he would not have to intervene. Maybe such actions would only serve to drive the man farther away; like a spoiled adolescent, Kyuubi would not take kindly to the idea that he was being controlled or coerced into a certain point of view. There was a simple solution to the current problem; Sasuke just had to find it. _

_If the situation continued on its current course, then Kyuubi would start targeting Hebi shipments and movements again. If that happened, then he would have no choice but to neutralize the threat against his organization, permanently. Destroying an asset was never his first choice, but Sasuke was nothing if not utilitarian. If the Samaritan became more trouble than he was worth, then the Uchiha had no qualms about killing him. But the man first had to show that he no longer wished to abide by their arrangement, and he had done no such thing, he had in fact cemented his tie to Hebi by saving Suigetsu and not simply allowing the man to be killed and feeding Sasuke in the information later. So the man was still on the fence, or maybe his action were what put him on the fence in the first place._

_The man had a strict moral code that allowed no deviation. To have even agreed to a temporary cease-fire with the men he had sworn to destroy, was tearing him up on the inside. No, there would be no point in spending precious time on pointless talk. For now, there seemed little point in doing anything to either help or hinder Kyuubi._ _That the man would start attacking his people again, Sasuke had no doubts, but with any luck, the fool would take out a couple of Akatsuki before he had to dispose of him; a job which would be much easier if he knew the man's true identity._

"Karin,"

The room fell deathly silent.

"Y-yes?" Came his lieutenant's shaky response.

"Have you made any progress identifying the smell from Kyuubi?"

The redhead trembled slightly as she shook her head. "No, I haven't yet, b-but I will, I promise."

"It was a common smell." Suigetsu broke in with a rush, suddenly defending the woman he had previously been insulting. "I think that if I smelled it again, I'd remember it."

The Uchiha rose, striding silently to the door before saying. "Then you both have the responsibility of remembering such a commonplace scent."

He brushed out the door, the heavy silence of the inner office burning his ears as he walked down the long hall, towards the thrumming hum of music and the ever present press of bodies. He had no patience for the incompetence which worked for him today. He had somewhere to be.

.:xXXx:.

Naruto sat on the old weather worn bench; his head hung low over the tepid coffee clutched in cold fingers. Somewhere in the darker recess of his mind, the blond registered that he was shivering, but paid it little mind. What was facing a bit of nippy weather when the man who raised you needed help? He could handle the cold, he only had what?

The blond glanced at his watch and sighed in frustration. He only had an hour left, which was only two minutes less than the last time he had checked. Even time was conspiring against him it seemed.

Naruto poured his semi-frozen coffee onto the ground and set the Styrofoam cup next to him on the bench. It sat there; small and alone, framed by the faded, once forest green paint. It reminded him of the times all those years ago… _when he would sit on this very same park bench, alone and watch all the other children walk home with their parents. That was before he had met Iruka. It was actually kind of funny that the man had chosen this bench as their rendezvous spot, the first time they had come to the park together, they'd fought over this stupid bench._

_The day had started off well enough; Iruka had taken a day off of work and took his newly christened foster child out for ice-cream and carousel riding and fun in the park. It had been lunch time, if he recalled correctly. They had gotten Osaka from a trundle vender in the park and were searching for a place to eat. Iruka had spotted the bench and called him over. But the blond said that he didn't want to sit on such a stupid old bench and said that he'd rather sit on the ground than that smelly piece of garbage excuse for a seat. That had set Iruka off. It wasn't until later, far after the warmth of the day had been ruined that his father began to wonder about his reaction._

_Naruto remembered distinctly, the man coming quietly into his room and sitting on the bed. He'd pretended to be asleep, but Iruka knew better. They had talked; mostly Iruka just listened as Naruto rambled about sitting on that dumb bench all his life in the orphanage. He'd told the man that he refused to sit on that bench with anyone because he had always been alone on it. It might've sounded silly and later, Naruto would shake his head at his own juvenile notions, but the blond just hadn't been ready to let that portion of his past go. To him, the grimy park bench was a symbol of his solitude, another way in which he had been cut off from the world. He hadn't been ready, in a way, he still wasn't. He'd explained it to Iruka, apologized for being a jerk about it and his foster father had understood._

_He still hadn't let anyone sit on the bench with him…maybe old habits just died hard was all? Of course he had never tried, but then again, he didn't really want to try. _

"You remembered,"

Naruto looked up. Iruka stood in front of him, bundled up in forty-something layers, a powder-blue scarf wrapped tightly around the lower half of his face. But even the thick material couldn't hide the brunette's wide, relieved smile.

Naruto smiled back and stood, letting out a soft grunt when he was pressed into an unexpected bear hug.

"Iruka," The blond rolled his eyes and held onto the man's elbows.

"You're early," The man pushed him away to arm's length, studying him carefully, as if afraid he were some imposter. "You're never early."

"I was worried when I got your message." Naruto admitted a little sheepishly. Now that it was obvious the man was fine, he felt a little stupid worrying as much as he had.

At the blonds words, Iruka's smile vanished. "Naruto," His voice was grave and deadly serious. "Let's take a walk."

"What? What?" But his foster father was already walking briskly down the deserted gravel path leading through Konagakure Memorial Park.

"Iruka, what?" Naruto jogged up beside his foster father, slowing to a walk when he got in step with the man. "What got you so worried that you can't talk over the phone? I heard the fear in your voice and I can smell all of the adrenaline in your bloodstream. What's going on?"

"Don't say things like that so loudly." The older man hissed, making Naruto;s eyes widen in surprise. The brunette glanced sharply at him and then placed his gaze firmly back on the road. "The police have him."

"The police have who?"

"They have your friend: Nara Shikamaru,"

Naruto felt his heart skip a beat. The Konoha PD had Shikamaru; Akatsuki hadn't killed him. The world spun crazily around him.

"He's not dead," The blond finally breathed, relief flooding through him.

Iruka nodded once. "I should say that Kakashi and Saratobi Asuma have him since Kakashi was the one that placed him under witness protection and Asuma insisted on personally guarding the boy until the trial."

"Wait, witness protection? Trial? Iruka what are you talking about?"

"Something that no one else is supposed to know about, Kakashi could get in a lot of trouble if what I'm about to tell you spread to the wrong ears."

Naruto felt excitement tingle up his spine. He felt like jumping around and telling the man to hurry up and tell him, but managed to keep quiet so the man could continue.

"Your friend witnessed a slaughter," Iruka whispered. "But he also managed to get some pictures of the incident too, the concrete evidence that Kakashi needed. The images are a little grainy, but their enough to convict on top of Shikamaru's testimony. Kakashi says that they're bringing in a judge from another part of the province the day of, so that there's no chance for the Akatsuki to get to him before then, I don't even know who it is. They have everything except a defendant. That's why I called you Naruto."

"I didn't do it."

The brunette shot his son a look that made it very obvious that he was not impressed by the joke.

"I need you to find a name."

"A name?"

Iruka looked uncertain. His pace had increased and the adrenaline was starting to become dangerously pungent. When the man spoke, his voice was a shade quieter than a whisper, one that Naruto had no trouble picking up, even through the scarf around his mouth. "Kakashi won't admit it, but he can't get the names of the two men in the picture and unless he suddenly becomes a ninja, there's no way that he's going to be able to bring those two men in for the trail. I need you to…"

Brown eyes disappeared, scrunched together in sorrow and pain. The subtle scent of saline came to the blond an instant before one tear trickled down the side of his foster father's cheek. "I can't believe that I'm asking you to do this, but if Kakashi goes after Akatsuki, he's…he's not going to come back. And I don't…"

His voice trailed off, choked with emotion.

Naruto understood. _Iruka was torn between saving the life of the man he loved, and asking the son the he cherished to do what might get him killed. But it wasn't because he loved Naruto less than Kakashi. The blond felt a little swell of pride. This was a show of faith, proof that Iruka believed in him, in what he could do and what he would be able to accomplish as Kyuubi; proof that Iruka thought he could come back alive._

"I get it," Naruto placed careful hands on the man's shoulders, looking him squarely in his tear bleared eyes. "I'll do it, for you and Kakashi, for Konoha too. I'll do it."

Iruka sniffed and wiped away the tears that were threatening to freeze to his face. "Thank you," But when he had opened his eyes again, he was standing alone, no trace of his bright eyed, number one hyperactive foster child anywhere, but in his heart.

_He would go to Kakashi first, make sure that the stubborn man didn't go after Akatsuki while he was making his run; for Iruka's sake. And then he would go…but he was going to come back…_

Umino Iruka shivered, wrapping his coat tighter around himself. _Naruto would come back…he had to believe it_.

.:xXXx:.

"Mah, Asuma, how long am I going to be trapped here?" Shikamaru Nara moaned, sliding lower in the second-hand couch he's been sitting in.

The older policeman paid no attention to the young man's complaints, studying the chess board in front of him. They had been isolated in the small safe house for two days straight, no contact with the outside world. Only Kakashi was allowed to come and go as he pleased because he was the only one amongst the three of them who wasn't considered MIA or dead. Asuma winced and thought about his wife and child. Kurenai was going to kill him when he 'came back from the dead'.

"Kakashi, where are you going?"

The silver haired detective had risen from the overstuffed armchair he had occupied for most of the day and was making his way to the back patio. The man shrugged, pulling the door open, despite the hindrance of thick curtains in the way and stepping though. "Just getting some air, Saratobi, I'll be back in a minute."

Whatever response his 'dead' partner made was lost in the swish of the shutting door.

Kakashi stretched, enjoying the stiff soreness of his muscles. He wasn't as young as he used to be. He couldn't sit in a chair all day and bounce right back up again; his body was starting to wear down.

"Finally," A deep voice chuckled from just above his head. "I thought I was going to have to go in there after you." The detective froze. He'd been caught completely by surprise. His sidearm was in a holster strapped around and just under his armpit, but it might as well have been on the South side of Konoha for all the good it would do him now.

"Why don't you come down here?" He kept his voice steady. "I'd like to see the man who's going to kill me."

"Kill you?" The man sounded shocked, as if he could not believe that Kakashi would come to such a conclusion. "I think you misunderstand my presence here."

And then he was not alone on the terrace. Between one blink and the next the man was standing in front of the detective, his legs spread wide and casual, his hands shoved deeply into the pockets of his leather jacket.

"Hatake Kakashi," The man rumbled. "I've come to offer my assistance."

"Kyuubi," The detective decided. "I honestly expected you to be taller."

The man let out a barking laugh, deep and resounding. He wasn't worried about the two men inside hearing him obviously, or else he had no idea that Kakashi wasn't here alone.

"No beating around the bush with you, detective, eh? No surprised gasps or stammering's about me being a myth? Come now, I'm practically urban legend!"

"Your work was too substantial to be urban legend." The Hatake replied mildly.

"Hm," The superhero was clearly amused. "Quite the believer, aren't you?"

"What do you want?"

"How easily you forget," The man before him answered, sounding bemused. "I offered to help you."

"Help me do what?"

"Don't play coy, detective, it hardly suits you." The man took a step closer. "I know that you need some nasty people brought in, I know that if you try to do it all by yourself, you're going to get killed and then where would your little investigation wind up?"

"You're volunteering to go after Akatsuki?"

"Akatsuki," Another step forward. "Hebi," Another step. "Whatever rubbish needs to be cleared off Konoha's streets."

"Someone's an idealist."

"We're both idealists Kakashi," The superhero was quite close to him now, close enough to see that the man was young, but the details were blurred in the oncoming night. "We just have different methods."

"Yours works outside of the established law while mine works with it."

Kyuubi snorted in disgust, his red gleaming eyes showing only contempt. "Tell me that you are not that naive. The very reason that I am allowed to function is because there is no real law in Konoha anymore. The reason I exist is to reestablish that order from the chaos that has consumed this city."

"Why?" Kakashi was tempted, to say that he wasn't would have been a lie and he was not in the habit of lying to himself. "Why this offer of help now? Why are you doing this?"

The man shrugged. "Reasons are fleeting things. Once you get what you want, what does it matter how you got it?"

"That's not the way I operate."

Kyuubi shrugged, turned and started away, but paused. "You know who I am, or at least, who I am when I have put on this mask. You understand what I feel, you try and protect this city, build it up when the multitudes around you struggle to tear it all down before your eyes. You know why I have fought for all these years, you know, because you have done it yourself. You desire an end to all this madness just as much as I do. Let me help you do what you cannot, you can take the credit for the capture, I care not. But let this city have its rest."

_Kakashi wanted to deny it, to tell the man that he was wrong. But the truth was that he was dead on. It had been twenty years since he had joined the Konoha PD, twenty long years trying to do his job and do it right while all around him cops got fat on the street gang's dime. He wanted Konoha to work, had believe in it all these years, that was why he had insisted on the trial. If he went in, guns blazing, he'd be no better than the scum they were trying to bring in. But he could see the light at the end of the tunnel, it was weak and faint, but it was the first he had seen it and he was not going to let it slip away. He didn't have enough officers, of the police that had survived the destruction of the police station, the only straight cops that remained were himself and Saratobi, not nearly enough to bring these two men in. But Kyuubi…maybe, just maybe he could do it…_

"Fine,"

The superhero took a deep breath, but did not turn, did not thank Kakashi for his decision. He merely nodded once…and disappeared from view.

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><p><strong>Author's note: REVIEWS 'gasp' need reviews to sustain my strength! Ahhhhh...<strong>

**So anyway, sorry this chapter's so short, well, compaired to the last chapter. The next will come soon, I just finished my last test for the Fall semester 'woot'!**

**Um...okay that's it...**

**TBC.**


	16. Chapter16: The Hint

**Hello again! I'm sorry that this took so long. I just...well, there really isn't an excuse. But I promised that I would finish my stories and I will. I am currently working on the second chapter for Men are From Mars, so you can expect that to come up soon.**

**Thank you to all my reviewers! I love you all, even though I didn't keep track of you all this time. I will go back to my personalized thanks next chapter, I promise. You all are the bomb!**

**And, props to my Beta: Rikado. Thanks for taking time out of you busy schedule to look over my work. :)**

**Off to Neverland!...**

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><p><strong>Chapter_16: Hints<strong>

"Suigetsu are you sure that you weren't followed?" Karin gasped, arching into the delicious lips that teased the hollow just behind her ear. Curse this man who turned her into such a quivering mess. After nearly a year of exclusive sex, the blond man knew entirely too much about how to make her weak and moaning. Though, she knew a fair amount about his little secret places as well. Turnabout, after all, fair play in love and war...although maybe she was mixing her metaphors.

The blonds husky laughter rumbled through her, as his big hands slid down her arched spine. "I'm always careful Karin, besides, who would want to watch us screwing around? All…night…long…" Every word was punctuated with a nipping kiss down her neck.

The redhead purred and ground her hips down on her secret lover's thick arousal. She loved this man's cock, the way that it filled her up so good, almost to bursting every single time that they got the itch. It was incredible. He was incredible. And he tried. That was the most unbelievable part about it all. Suigetsu always made sure that she got hers before he let himself go, even four or five times if he was feeling generous on a particular occasion. He would never admit to being so kind a lover. In fact, every time Karin had mentioned it, Suigetsu would always stiffen and mumble something about only being able to stand her screaming at him when she was getting off. But that was just tripe and they both knew it. The redhead would never tell a soul, though. Who would believe her? It didn't matter anyway. Because every time she and Suigetsu were together…she felt herself falling just a little bit farther in love with the irascible gunman. That too, would remain her secret.

"Tell me what do you want tonight?" Suigetsu growled; gripping her hips so he could grind her more fully into himself, showing his slut just how ready he was for her tight wet heat. "How do you want it?"

"I would like some answers."

Both gang members stiffed in surprise. Without warning, Karin was dumped unceremoniously onto her butt when the blond sprang off of the couch, grabbing for the large handgun he'd left on the coffee table.

"And as far as how I want them, I prefer my answers straight if you don't mind."

Suigetsu's fingers closed around the 30 caliber and swung it up to bear. "Like Hel-" The moment his eyes focused on the source of that voice the exclamation died on his lips. He managed to keep the muzzle of his weapon pointed towards the lone figure framed in Karin's open window, but it was all for show. He had experienced Kyuubi's speed firsthand and he knew that if the man wanted him dead, he would be already. He'd even lay odds that the guy could probably dodge his bullet too.

From her position on the floor, Karin whined and turned to get a look at the interloper. Suigetsu knew the instant that she spotted the masked man; she stopped making noise.

"Sorry babe," He grinned. "I guess that I was followed after all."

Kyuubi chuckled, that same one that Karin had heard all those nights ago, the same one that still gave her night terrors. It was exactly the same as before. It had lost none of its power. She felt blood run cold under skin that had been prickling with heat only seconds before.

"What do you want?"

The superhero lounged back against the windowsill, completely at ease despite the fifty caliber pointed squarely at his chest. "I came because I need to talk to your boss."

"That's it?" Suigetsu was skeptical.

Kyuubi spread his hands wide. "You'd prefer if I'd come to bump you and your lady friend off chump? I have no reason to lie to you."

That was true enough, the bleached blond supposed. The guy had no reason to hold back questions; there would be no point to it. One good thing about this business was that if someone wanted something from you, you didn't have to spend time playing twenty questions with them. The down-side was, if you didn't know how to push your cards right, you never moved to the next round.

"Say that I get you a meeting with my Boss, what happens then?"

"Suigetsu!"

The young gunman ignored the woman on the floor. He knew what this Kyuubi was capable of, but he knew the man he worked for. If there was anyone that could handle this guy, and had already handled him, it was Uchiha Sasuke.

Kyuubi put his head to one side, like he was playing coy. "When you give me what I want, I'll leave you and your…lady love to continue with…playtime." The amusement in the man's voice was plain and Suigetsu bristled at the tone. Well, that and the fact that he had said 'when' not 'if'.

"Even if I'm willing to get my Boss for you, and I haven't said that I am, what do you want with him?"

"I'm not after his head if that's what you're asking."

The statement was matter-of-fact and held no room for deception. Suigetsu believed him. _Not like you could score it if you were trying._ The bleached blond thought with some triumph. Sasuke wasn't Boss Hebi because he dressed so nice. That man was a tried professional and wicked deadly. There was no way that even this guy, with all his speed and super whatever, could beat Suigetsu's employer.

"Fine," The gunner put his weapon down and cross the room to where his jacket hung on an old-fashioned coat stand. Karin had found the stupid thing online, said it reminded her of the ancient black-and-white movies or something like that. He gingerly fished his phone out of one pocket and pressed the speed dial just in case. If Kyuubi could keep track of numbers punched in a keypad, he didn't want to be the one explaining to Sasuke, just how the guy had gotten a hold of his own personal number.

The phone rang once before Sasuke picked up.

"Speak,"

"Yo, Boss," The bleached blond tried to sound as casual as he could. He didn't make it a habit to call his employer in the middle of the night for the simple reason that he was either asleep or…otherwise occupied during the dark hours. He hoped that Sasuke would be in a good enough mood to overlook the odd timing of the phone call and the…motivation behind it.

"I've got a guy here that wants to have a one-on-one with you."

The answer was not immediate and Suigetsu could feel the seconds of his soon to be short life trickling away.

"Tell him that I will meet with him tomorrow."

"Will do Boss," Suigetsu replied cheerfully, thankful that Sasuke seemed to be in a rarely magnanimous temperament. His elation, however, died a swift death the instant his gaze fixed on the superhero across from him. Kyuubi shook his head and said one word: "Tonight,"

_C__hikushou…_

"Um, Boss…"He was going to die tomorrow. Suigetsu knew it; he could feel the Uchiha's mounting frustration over the phone. And it would not be a pleasant death…oh, no… The Uchiha was preparing something tailor-made for him right now. Maybe he would be staked out on top of a building and left there to dry out, alone with only his bodily fluids to keep him company until he died. The bleach-blond suppressed a shudder. "Actually, this guy really needs to talk to you tonight. It's um, pretty important and stuff-I really think that you should talk to him. I mean this Kyuubi guy is being decent and trying to set up an appointment with you so in the interest of keeping good relations, I thing that we…I mean, you, um...listen to what he has to say."

The pause was longer.

"I will be waiting on top of 'Sound'."

"Yeah, Boss," Suigetsu snapped the phone shut and turned. "He said-" But the window was empty, nothing moved but the sway of cream colored curtains. Kyuubi had heard and he was on his way.

The blond gunman felt a shiver go down his spine as he faced his lover, still sitting on the floor.

He was going to die tomorrow for sure.

**.:xXXx:.**

It was déjà vu. Here he was, in the middle of the night, on the top of a cold, windswept building, alone, waiting for Konoha's famed protector to pay him a visit for the second time in less than a week. But he was by no means 's unprpared. Suigetsu's advanced notice had given him time to don his concealing 'street rat' attire and Sasuke could feel the outline of his personal sidearm, 'kusanagi', digging into the small of his back. If Kyuubi had come to sever the ties he had with Hebi, then the raven was equipped to deal with the situation.

Like the time before, the shadows were advantageougly placed to hide him further. And the time before, it was the slightest noise from behind that warned him.

"That's far enough."

"Oh dear," The superhero's laugh was mocking. "It seems that I've been caught again."

"You have one minute." Sasuke wasn't in the mood to play games with the superhero. Kyuubi had picked a bad night to try being cute.

"Someone's testy tonight."

"Fifty seconds."

"Hm," The noise Kyuubi made was decidedly displeased. But the man hid it well under a blanket of mock horror. Apparently he had been hoping for a little more verbal repartee on the part of Boss Hebi. As Sasuke had said before: the man picked a bad night for this meeting. At last, it seemed Kyuubi realized this, because when next he spoke, his voice was clipped and business-like.

"As much as it irks me to ask a puny man such as yourself, I've reached a point where I can't go any farther on my own."

The raven said nothing. Kyuubi had uttered no great revelation which warranted a response.

"No one's talking, not a soul. Even the professional informants are unusually close-lipped about what they know or they've disappeared entirely."

Sasuke fought hard not to snort in disgust. This conversation was going nowhere. If the man had come to whine to Sasuke about his problems, he was glad that he had given the one minute time limit. "Thirty seconds."

"I need information." Kyuubi growled. "You, I hear, have made it your business to be well informed. I've been told that you are the man who knows everything."

_Besides your true identity_. The Uchiha thought despondently. But that admission would never be voiced aloud. It was only a matter of time before Sasuke uncovered the man's alter ego, the one he could manipulate and threaten and use to his fullest potential. He found that he was quite looking forward to that day.

"I need to know everything that you know, every scrap, every rumor and tidbit you have ever found out about Akatsuki."

"I've already given you a hint." Sasuke said, smirking. "Surely with your 'superior intellect' you used it to discover whom you sought?"

"The hint you gave me was helpful." Kyuubi growled, as if admitting that was tantamount to revealing that he was really a stripper for a gay bar. "…maybe if you could give me one more?"

The minute was well over when the Uchiha responded at last. He spoke with infinite slowness, as if he were weighing each word before he allowed it to pass from his mouth and into the air. "Suigetsu would have died if not for your…timely intervention yesterday night. It seems as though I owe you a favor."

Kyuubi arched an eyebrow. "Is that a yes?"

"Give me 24 hours to compile the data. You may have the file then."

The superhero nodded his accent before a roguish gleam lit his eyes. "That sounds fine. I'll see you tomorrow night then…Lord Hebi."

And then Sasuke was alone.

The meeting had gone well enough to suit him. Kyuubi had not threatened to break away from Hebi or intimidate Sasuke with idle words of impending doom. The man wanted something and he asked for it an annoying, but not a disgusting amount of bothersome foreplay.

It was fortunate for the superhero, however, that Sasuke owed him that favor. Breaking in a whole new lieutenant would not have been a pleasant task, if the raven had actually found someone qualified to suit his long-term needs. He had not in all actual honesty, anticipated Kyuubi calling in that favor…at all.

But the deed was done and with less damage done to his pride than he would've estimated. In less than 24 hours, the superhero would have the information he desired and Sasuke would owe him nothing. Just as it was meant to be.

The brunette tilted his head up to look at the sky. Thin filaments of grey had crept a fair ways across the bleak black sheen of night. Dawn would be upon them soon, chasing away the all-encompassing darkness which covered the sins committed below his feet in the filthy streets.

He would have to compile that file before the end of the day. He also needed to discipline Suigetsu for the second time in 24-hours, not a promising omen for his lieutenant's immediate future. If the gunman continued to show this level of incompetence he would have to be reminded of the standard Boss Hebi required of those under his employ. Sasuke made no bones about…re-sharpening tools when it became necessary.

His cell phone buzzed. _It would be Karin,_ Sasuke thought. _Suigetsu wouldn't risk calling his boss so soon after even a minor transgression as this. Karin, however, was significantly less conscious of her own ill-favored position and would be glad to call for the man she fancied herself in love with._

His jeans continued to vibrate angrily as he ignored the call.

A surge of apathy overtook the raven and he discovered that he had no desire to deal with Hebi at the moment. He found instead that his thoughts were turning, as they had begun to with increasing frequency, to the blond man he had been pursuing.

Sasuke coolly wondered if Naruto was recovered, enough to talk to him without flinching. Because, for some reason, he desired the blonds' company… for no other reason he could surmise at the moment, than the necessity of a warm-bodied individual by his side who had no subversive designs on him.

Maybe he could convince Naruto that breakfast with an Uchiha could benefit them both.

Sasuke reached for his now silent phone, tapping the screen in order to check the time.

4:38 in the morning.

He would have time to go home; a shower would in no way be out of the question, he'd just come from _Sound's_ sweaty interior after all. He must change his clothing before he went over to Naruto's apartment as well. One did not show up at the door of the man they were seducing smelling of stale excretions and whiskey, not when the one doing the seducing was Uchiha Sasuke.

The gang leader began a slow descent from his perch, running a few quick calculations in his head as his legs carried him semi-consciously downward.

It would take approximately an hour and a half to travel to his apartment, get ready and then go to Naruto's place of residence. 6:08 A.M., give or take, which wasn't a completely outrageous time to request someone's company for breakfast.

Sasuke stepped onto the street and turned his cell phone off before tucking it resolutely into his pocket and heading for his car parked a little ways away.

It was decided.

**.:xXXx:.**

Naruto paced the floor of his apartment; ignoring the trail of dirt, tar and pigeon dropping he was leaving on the floor of his bedroom.

Tonight had not gone well. Actually, that was something of an overstatement, since something had to happen at all in order for it to be classified as 'good' or 'bad'.

He had just spent the entire night shaking down every criminal contact that he knew or had heard about, every informant, every leak, mole and squealer he had scraped together over the years before he left Konoha. The only thing he'd found out was that Detective Hatake Kakashi hadn't been lying when he said that no one was willing to do any talking. He'd basically wasted his night. In fact, his only consolation was that if he hadn't gotten on Boss Hebi's case, he might still have nothing. How screwed up was that?

Well, he still had nothing _in hand_, but Naruto believed that the man would deliver tomorrow night like he had promised; after all, crime lords didn't like owing people favors.

All the same, asking the man he trying to depose for information grated against something deep inside of him too. It was a little too close to aiding the enemy. _Idiot_, a small, but unflappably honest voice in his brain whispered, _aren't you doing that already?_

The ancient analogue clock behind him chimed, bringing the blond mercifully out of the conundrum of ethics which had begun to churn in his mind.

Naruto glanced over his shoulder at the face of the old time-piece he had picked up at a garage sale.

According to it, he had four hours until he had to be at work, too little to go to sleep, just enough to be annoying. Maybe he could go over to Kiba's pad and crash for a few hours, maybe hang out. He could snag some fast food on the way for them to pig out on too. It would be just like old times. Except with his luck, Hinata would have spent the night last night.

Naruto's face contorted into a wretched grimace. The last time he had shown up unexpectedly at the Inuzuka's apartment, he'd seen far too much of his best friend's bare backside and Hinata's pale skin to feed his nightmare's for life. That had been awkward.

The blonds' frown returned full force as his mind turned away from that horrid mental picture and back to the meeting he had just finished with Boss Hebi. He couldn't explain it, but there was something strangely familiar about the man, something tantalizingly familiar. When he thought about it, he thought he could almost figure out what that thing was, but it just wouldn't come; like when a word gets stuck on the tip of your tongue. Maybe it was the man's smell. But all Naruto had noticed right off the bat was sweat and alcohol soaking into the man's skin, nothing too exciting. So the guy had been clubbing before Suigetsu called him, it wasn't a crime. Everything else the gang Boss did was, but that particular activity Naruto couldn't judge. But there was _something_...

There was a sharp knock on his door.

Naruto hurried over to the front and peered through the person viewer to get a look at his early morning caller. The blond caught an eyeful of a very distinctive face: Uchiha Sasuke was paying him a visit.

He was about to tentatively open the door when a single heart stopping thought raced to the forefront of his mind.

_He was still wearing his costume._

The blond panicked, sprinting towards his bedroom, peeling clothing frantically off of himself even as another knock shook the door.

**.:XX:.**

_The light was on, so why wasn't he answering his door? _

Sasuke knocked a third time. _Was the blond avoiding him? _Naruto had seemed fine with being around him a few nights ago. Granted that the man had been drunk for a good chunk of it, but he had also suggested going out in the first place.

The raven lifted his fist and was about to knock once last time when the door opened and he saw…

Uzumaki Naruto was an attractive man, every sinew and fiber of his compact 5'10" frame was sleek musculature. At least, that was that Sasuke had surmised watching the blond moving around fully clothed. Now, the proof of his suppositions was standing literally in front of him. Uzumaki Naruto stood framed in the doorway, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his tapered hips and an annoyed expression on his face. Sasuke's hands twitched, and he suddenly had the impulse to throw the blond down onto the ground and mount his hot tan backside.

He chose instead to stuff them into his pockets instead. "That's quite the outfit."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I was about to take a shower, not that it's any of your business."

They stood in silence, Sasuke not certain how to take this newfound coldness on the part of the typically jovial blond and the blond wondering why exactly he'd thought that answering his door in a towel was any less humiliating than answering it as Kyuubi. _Oh, yeah, no one was supposed to know that he was Kyuubi, that's right_. _But he could take showers until the sun went down, or when the sun went down…never mind._

"In or out Uchiha," Naruto pursed his lips. "It's cold, and heat's expensive, so pick one."

The raven stepped past him and into the still semi-clean bachelor pad. The door shut behind him and he heard Naruto huff bad temperedly.

"I'm still taking a shower, so if you want something, you're going to have to talk to me while I'm doing my thing or wait 'till I'm done. Because I'm not going to drop everything to make sure you're comfortable."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted and strode past the blond into the warm and sparsely furnished apartment. The door clicked shut behind him and the Uchiha heard Naruto mutter a quick 'Don't get too comfortable' before disappearing into a door on the other side of the homey living area which the raven assumed was the bathroom.

The door clicked shut and Sasuke was alone. A moment later he heard the shower come on, the steady driving patter of water hitting the sides and sliding down the drain.

He was tempted, for a second, to join his evasive blond prey into his ill-chosen refuge, but decided that it would do more harm than good; despite fraught assurances from his libido the opposite was true. There would be plenty of time to keep Naruto company in the shower later if everything worked out the way it seemed to be.

More to keep his mind from the golden-haired temptation in the bathroom than any real need to reacquaint himself with his surroundings; Sasuke began a show perusal of the Uzumaki's apartment.

He'd already been here once after all and an Uchiha rarely needed to see something more than once to remember even the minutest detail: another parting gift from his benevolent patriarch of a father.

The layout was familiar, the same furniture and tightly packed four rooms comprised the tiny apartment. He'd come through an open entryway, straight into the room which was both receiving and living room. The boxy space was just large enough to hold an overstuffed sofa and a duct-taped beanbag chair squished into a corner. Against the far wall stood a small CD player on top of an obviously second-hand coffee table. There was no TV anywhere to be seen.

Sasuke's brows furrowed slightly. It was odd that a male of Naruto's age didn't own that basic societal necessity. Even Suigetsu, when he wasn't on a job, drinking or screwing Karin's brains out, could be found wasting what little life he had staring into the glowing depths of a glowing plasma screen. And his lieutenant certainly wasn't an exception to the rule. Most people made the time to watch the hyped-up drama that dominated every available network. It was the singularly unique individual who chose not to be a part of the cable system.

Sasuke took three derisive steps to his right and was in the kitchen. The scent of stale ramen washed over him, mixing weirdly with the sharp tang of lemon disinfectant. A pile of dirty dishes was stacked in the old steel sink. The counter-tops which blazed brilliant red-orange, clashed weirdly with the sea-green linoleum on the floor. The raven's nose wrinkled subconsciously at the mixture of odd scent and grotesque visual. He'd have to keep his visits to Naruto's apartment down to a minimum if he desired to keep his retinas intact. This would necessitate the blond making frequent trips to his own place of residence, a prospect Sasuke was quite looking forward to.

The raven's ascertaining gaze darted once more over the garishly tiny kitchen and turned to the empty room from whence he'd come.

He saw them then. Two sets of footprints dotted their way from a closed door at the far end of the living room to the front door and back again. One set, the darker of the two and thusly, Sasuke surmised, the first; carried nothing out of the ordinary. The stride was casual; the print of the tred was almost perfectly crisp, only the ball of the feet was visibly worn down by age. The wear was slight, but heavy enough to have been the result of heavy use, or little use over the last...six months or so Sasuke quickly estimated. Other than the aformentioned, there was nothing out of the ordinary with the first trial. The second set of tracks, however, occurred in wider intervals along the carpet back across the living room. Naruto had been running when he'd gone this way…but why?

Sasuke scraped a little of the dirt onto his index finger and took an experimental sniff. The scent of feces and tar was faint, but powerful enough to remain distinctive even in such a minute quantity.

He flicked the grime away and straightened to follow the path back the way Naruto had come. Towards his bedroom.

The raven paused for a moment as he passed the bathroom, listening for the hiss of water. Naruto was still in the shower. He had a little time left to investigate.

Sasuke strode easily into the dark interior of Naruto's bedroom and shut the door behind him.

It had the blonds' touch everywhere that Sasuke could see, little bits of himself that no one could replicate. Overtop the roughly hewn wooden floorboards was a thick, albeit dirty rug had been laid. Naruto had attempted to cover the cracks in his plaster walls by tacking several large posters featuring instant ramen over the offensive spots. Besides these items, there was enough room to house only a less than frequently utilized clothing hamper, a small dresser and a bed.

Well, it was a bed in the sense that that was where the blond slept. It defied convention though, for it was nothing more than two large mattresses laid on the bedroom floor. Sasuke thought absently that the only reason he hadn't noticed the lack of bed frame was that he had not been focused on such details during his last foray into this room.

At least Naruto had dressed his bed. A hint of sky-blue sheets were visible intermingled with the tangled swath of thick blankets. The effect of this lackadaisical morning routine, instead of being abrasively messy, was actually rather sexy.

This was a bed that could've been ignored in the morning, or it could've been the bed upon which two unspeakably aroused and consensual adults had shared a night of wild, passionate sex…All. Night. Long.

The thought of Naruto naked and spread with those sheets tangled like snakes around him was almost scrumptious enough to distract Sasuke from his original purpose…almost. The trail of dirt, however, was his focus for the moment and he would not be dissuaded.

The dirt had originated here, in this room. From what the raven could tell; Naruto had been pacing back and forth across his room's cramped capacity.

Connected to these jumbled prints was a single set coming from the window hung on the far wall.

Sasuke moved over to the sill and pushed it open. For the second time that morning, something caught the corner of his eye.

A small bit of the same muddy mixture had been embedded onto the bottom of the window ledge. It was the toe of a boot print. It looked as if Naruto had used the ledge to step down into his bedroom from the outside. But there was no fire escape that Sasuke could see, no protruding edge from which to climb to or from.

The Uchiha leaned out of the window and gazed about, his quick eyes missing nothing. No fire escape. No ladder. No hand-holds of any sort.

_Odd…_

Making a mental note to discreetly extract that enticing bit of information from the blond at his earliest possible convenience, Sasuke withdrew and pulled the window shut after him.

He was on the alert now; eyes searching for any oddities, any inconstancy. That was the only reason he saw the smeared foot print.

It was of a bare foot this time, the only fact which distinguished it from the tumult of muddy tracks on Naruto's rough wood floor. It was out of the way of the jumbled lines pacing up and down the middle of the blonds' room and pointed towards the hamper Sasuke had noticed in passing when he'd first come in.

He took a step towards it and reached out, uncertain of what he would find.

Smooth plastic brushed the outstretched tips of his fingers.

"What are you doing in my room?"

The bedroom door pelted open and there stood a very perturbed, very wet blond man.

Naruto's words registered, but distantly and in a segment of Sasuke's rational that wasn't currently eyeing the Uzumaki's soaking wet form with an interest which bordered on predatory. If the Uzumaki had looked tempting standing at his front door in nothing but a towel the way he was now, moisture gleaming off his hard muscles, chest heaving, with that same towel threatening to fall from his slim hips…Naruto looked downright edible.

Suddenly, the reasons why he shouldn't mix business and pleasure seemed far less important.

He moved forward; his steps fluid and powerful all at once. He was a great cat, a sleek black panther stalking his prey.

* * *

><p>Naruto saw the hunger in those predatory black eyes and felt his pulse treble as Sasuke walked toward him.<p>

The man's face was as expressionless and impassive as it always was. The desire…the voracious appetite was all reflected in those sharp, dangerous pools of obsidian. Looking into the raven's eyes, Naruto felt like he was being X-rayed; as though he were a particularly succulent piece of meat.

Sasuke looked hungry.

His pulse thrummed against his throat, jumping with every silent pad of the raven's feet towards him. But he couldn't run. He couldn't move, couldn't look away from the Uchiha's mesmerizing gaze.

Sasuke was feet from him. The blond could see the lips parted slightly. They were soft, he knew from experience, lush and firm and perfect when he kissed. Would he kiss him again?

The raven was inches away now. Naruto felt his own skin prickle with acute awareness. Sasuke's warm breath smoothed over his jaw as the man's feet drew no nearer, but his body leaned into the paralyzed blond. Their chests touched; the heat and lingering moisture from Naruto's shower soaking readily into the dark fabric of Sasuke's shirt.

"'What am I doing in your room?' Is that what you asked me, Naruto?"

He had nothing but air at his back, but he felt as trapped as if Sasuke were holding him up against a wall. It was an odd, heady sensation that was slowly overwhelming his senses. His blood pulsed and was starting to flow away from his brain the instant Sasuke's heated murmur had slid into his ear.

"Yeah," To his credit, Naruto's voice was almost convincingly steady when he answered the raven's question. There wasn't any reason for tremors in his response. He wasn't afraid, just…really turned on.

A shiver ran its sensitized fingers down his spine when the Uchiha's husky reply eased over the twists and whorls of his ear.

"That's quite the question to ask. I might lie to you, Naruto. I might tell you what you want to hear. How would you know if any of it was the truth?"

A pause coated the air with tension so thick the blond thought he might be able to breathe it in.

"Maybe I was memorizing how your bed looks in the morning. That way I can imagine you on it, in it; your eyes bleary with passion and sleep…sexy."

The blonds' breathing quickened and Sasuke went on.

"Maybe I was simply memorizing your scent. You can smell it as well; the musky essence of you which clings to your pillows and sheets like a lover."

Naruto's jaw worked furiously, caught in the pleasurable haze between denial and whole-hearted agreement. But his raven-haired tormentor had already moved on.

"Maybe I was looking for the perfect wall to shove you up against when the time is right. Maybe you would like the window better. I can see you, grasping the sill while I take you in my hands; stroking you while you scream you pleasure out to the night."

The blond fought to swallow, to bring some moisture to his suddenly dry throat and to ease out from the haze of lust filming over his mind. It did little to accomplish either.

Sasuke's husky baritone washed over the nerves of his ears once again and the Uzumaki knew he was going to do something embarrassing soon if the brunette continued to whisper sex.

"Maybe I knew that you would come looking for me. Maybe I lured you here on purpose."

"I…" Naruto's mouth was working overtime, trying to form the words his brain hadn't cleared enough to choose. And to his own shame, all it had taken was a few dirty words purred into his head in a sexy timber.

* * *

><p>The brunette couldn't help the tiny smirk which lifted the corners of his lips. Who would have guessed that Naruto was such an innocent? The pleasure of it was enough to slake his desire for the time-being while reaffirming the need to see the blond writhing, blushing and moaning beneath him.<p>

Sasuke took a measured step backwards, reminiscent to the care he had taken in his own kitchen a few days ago. He nearly chuckled in self-gratification at the sight of Naruto standing, framed by the doorway, shaking with every breath. Sasuke found that he was quickly growing a pension for that particular expression of lust and arousal on the blonds' face. Naruto might last the whole week through, but after the time limit was up, there would be no desire for Sasuke to leave.

The Uchiha stepped over to Naruto's dresser and, making an educated guess, pulled open the top left drawer. He tossed a pair of heart patterned dark blue boxers at the slightly less dazed blond who caught them out of reflex before realizing what they were.

"Get ready."

"Hey!" The Uzumaki bellowed as his flush started trailing down the sculpted column of throat once more and he scrambled into his room. "Stop going through my stuff!"

Sasuke made no comment, but took a step back as the blond came barreling towards him. Naruto had gotten the idea it seemed. It would do no good to bait him further.

* * *

><p>Naruto started pulling out drawers for himself and tossing his selected articles of clothing onto the mussed bed. He was just reaching for the towel when he remembered that Sasuke was still in the room. He darted what he hoped was a casual glance over to where the raven stood and immediately began to feel the temperature in the room skyrocket.<p>

The Uchiha wasn't even pretending to look away. Sasuke was pointedly gazing at him with those strangely all seeing eyes. The look he had in his eyes wasn't nearly as intense as it had been a minute ago, but it was in the same category: avaricious. Naruto knew he was blushing like a mad fool. He could feel the heat starting to ease its way down his neck past his collarbone.

"What?" He snapped defensively, trying to stare down the Uchiha without looking him in the eye. "You want to watch me put clothes on now? I thought you were trying to get me out of them."

He almost wished that he could yank those words back and stuff them back into his mouth; because the heat that began to smolder in Sasuke's unnaturally communicative eyes had sweat beading on his freshly washed skin. When had Sasuke's eyes ever held so much…emotion?

"Tell me to leave."

Naruto blinked stupidly a few times before the words sunk in. "Wha…I…uh…" _Chikushou, he was a little uncomfortable with the idea of dressing with an audience, but Sasuke didn't have to make it sound like he was a girl._

"Jerk," The malice was gone from his voice and he muttered the insult in such a low tone he was afraid the raven had missed it. "You don't have to leave the room, just…" He swallowed and turned his attention to the pile of clothes on his bed. "Just turn around."

He waited for a moment and glanced at Sasuke, watching as the man inclined his head ever so slightly and, taking deliberate steps, faced the window.

It took Naruto a second to remember that he still had to get dressed and he quickly dropped the towel to the floor where it landed with a wet 'plop'. "So…um…" The blond spoke, partly to fill the acrid silence, partly because his curiosity had begun to niggle mercilessly at him. "What's with the early bird visit? No offense, I wasn't exactly expecting you to come over at six in the morning."

"I came to take you to breakfast."

Naruto grinned as he pulled his jeans up and over the boxer shorts thinking: what is this, the morning after? He cleared his throat uncomfortably; attempting to clear away the image that question triggered in his mind's eye. Not bad, it couldn't be that. Especially after the unplanned and really very honestly hot grope sessions he and Sasuke had shared. But the idea that he was starting to come up with those kinds of thoughts on his own was still a little…uncomfortable.

"Wouldn't a phone call have been easier?"

The Uchiha smirked. "Neither of us would have enjoyed a phone call nearly as much as my visit I think."

The blond ducked into his shirt to hide his blush, forgetting for a moment that Sasuke's back was turned. "Well, it's a little early for a social call. That's all I'm saying. A little advanced warning would have been nice."

Sasuke let out a small breath. "Are you finished?"

"No," Naruto said; completely misunderstanding the raven's question. "I'm not done and I'll yell and whine about you being rude as often as I want to Uchiha! No one said that you could come over to my place at this ungodly hour of the morning! But you just barge into my home whenever you feel like and my privacy doesn't count for anything apparently. No one said that I wanted to have breakfast with you! Did it even occur to you that I might have plans with someone else already; someone other than your possessive self? Maybe I'm going to go and spent time with my father before I go to work. Maybe I just don't feel like humoring you this early in the morning. Maybe…maybe…I don't know what, but maybe that's what too!"

* * *

><p>Sasuke could feel his eyebrow crawling up toward his hairline.<p>

Why was Naruto suddenly so frustrated? And why was he expressing the entirely of his ire now? It was odd that he would wait for such a lengthy amount of time before expressing his opinions. Why, if he felt like this, didn't he simply slam the door in Sasuke's face when the raven showed up at his door in this 'ungodly hour of the morning'?

Sasuke knew enough about Naruto to understand that the blond hated to offend people, but if he were annoyed enough, the man would certainly have carried no qualms about telling him all about it. So it carried, that Naruto was upset, but the reasons he was spouting were bull, or at the very least, nowhere near as dire. That begged the question: why was he _really_ upset? Because Sasuke was here? Perhaps, but that was still too vague.

The image of Naruto's face came back to him. Panic and anger had intermingled as the particle board barrier pelted inwards. Anger: comprehendible. Panic…that was not so easily justified. And what had Naruto yelled? 'What are you doing in my room?' It seemed fairly obvious that he wasn't snooping through anything. And the Uchiha had been inside this particular room once before, when Naruto was in less of a condition to ward off undesired searches than he was at present. It was likely that he didn't want Sasuke to see something, something that he hadn't had time to hide properly? Pornography? Sexy undergarments? What was so terrible that he didn't want Sasuke to see?

The raven drew in a deep breath, clearing his lungs of old air and his mind from its inconclusive train. Naruto was hiding something. So, what? Everyone had secrets. What would it gain him to drag those undisclosed items squirming into the light? This was all swirling and fitting together, but somthing was missing, one piece of the puzzle that remained stubbornly elusive. If he bagered the blond, he might unravel the mystery, but...

He could see no benefit for the time being. So he chose instead to pacify the Uzumaki for the time being. He could demand answers later, as a concerned lover, and not a busybody.

"Have you finished dressing yourself, usuratonkachi?" He clarified.

There was a long silence. And then, finally, the Uzumaki answered. He sounded smaller, less certain of himself then before, maybe that was because he had stopped yelling. "Yeah, I…well, you can turn around now."

The raven obliged, directing Naruto with his most assessing gaze under his control. The blond had already put his back to the brunette and was walking towards the door.

"Come on, Sasuke," Naruto called over his shoulder. "If you're taking me to breakfast, we might as well get it done before it's time to eat dinner."

The gang boss thought it best not to press his luck. He hadn't planned on obtaining Naruto's consent this way, but now that he had, it seemed foolish to point out to the man that he had, not moments before, been bellowing that he didn't want to go out to breakfast. Another oddity to file away and analyze at a later date.

He watched as the blond shrugged into a coat and started scrounging around for shoes. What was going on inside that man's head? What had caused that uncharacteristically rapid mood change? What was Naruto hiding and why?

As a well bred connoisseur of knowledge, Sasuke's intellect was shifting restlessly and would until those questions were satisfied. But as a lover, the Uchiha knew the merits of taking ones time.

He would find out everything about Uzumaki Naruto, every dirty, filthy little secret that the blond man had dared to keep locked away from him.

But for now…

Sasuke opened the front door and gestured Naruto through.

For now he was going to take this delicious man out for breakfast and he was going to enjoy it.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Review! Even though I don't deserve it for abandoning you all for so long. I promise that I won't take nearly as long to update the next time. Christmas break just sucked it out of me. So I had an awful time getting back into the writer metality. Thanks for your patience!**

**But if I don't get more than three reviews, I might just wait another three months! Reviews are the soul to which my body clings.**

**Until next time!**


	17. Chapter17: Breakfast

Thanks for all the reviews!

**You guys are the bomb. I just realized that I'm only 1 review away from breaking the 100 reviews barrier! So review lots and lots!**

Thanks to my Beta: **Ridako!** She rocks my sock off!

Forward March!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter_17: Breakfast<strong>

He was getting impatient. Fortitude was something that he was known for, but still the hours seemed to be dragging. Weeks and weeks of waiting, of sitting around, keeping to the shadows; his patience was growing thin. Time was the essence of existence. If one did not use the time which one is given, then you might as well be a part of the teaming, powerless masses, scurrying around from place to place, searching…pining…dying.

There was no time for this waiting. It was time to act.

"Pain,"

"What, Sasori?"

"How long shall we wait amongst the rats and the filth, while nothing is accomplished?"

The man with many piercings did not answer for a time.

"As long as it takes, Sasori. That is how long."

He did not even spare a glance to his red haired comrade, but stood and began a slow, measured walk away. His low mesmerizing voice echoed off the crumbling walls and back to the red headed man still seated on the floor.

"Do not fear Sasori…the time is drawing near."

**.:xXXx:.**

It was a date.

There was no other term for it and that in of itself was mortifying. Okay, so mortifying was maybe a little bit of an overstatement. Petrifying was a better word, terrifying…gauche… The blond sighed. He had to stop thinking like this. It wasn't so bad that Sasuke was taking him out for breakfast. It was actually sort of kind.

Naruto snorted. He couldn't believe that he'd just put the words: 'kind' and 'Sasuke' together in a sentence. Well, it wasn't as though the bastard couldn't be kind, this morning was sort of a case and point, but the raven just…didn't like to show that side of himself. It was weird to think that Naruto was the only one who got to see Sasuke's gentler side.

The blond snorted again. If he kept saying stupid stuff like that, he was going to hurt himself. And if Uchiha Sasuke had a gentler side, then Naruto had danced 'The Lindy' naked on Main street.

Okay, so that was probably a little unfair. The brunette wasn't so terrible; a tad…stoic, and he could be controlling, but the man was…

Yes, alright, kind! That first time they'd met Sasuke had given him a freaking huge tip. That was one point in the raven's favor. Second, Sasuke had gone along with him when he was concerned about Shikamaru, granted Naruto had, in a fit of petulant indignation, dragged him to the apartment building. But Sasuke never protested and had even taken care of him once he…er…lost consciousness. He was always sensitive of Naruto's budding self-awareness. He liked to see how far the Uzumaki's boundaries went, but after they had been established, he never pressed him farther, sexually speaking, than Naruto was comfortable. The perfect example was that time when Naruto had lost control of himself and Sasuke hadn't taken advantage.

Naruto could feel heat sliding down his collar. He himself had initiated, heck, practically begged for the raven to bend him over and…He shivered. But Sasuke hadn't cashed in on the blonds' venerability. The raven had backed off, made Naruto calm down, talk to him and show him a piece of his childhood that not even Iruka knew about.

Naruto swallowed. An odd, heady sensation accompanied that thought; the fact that Uchiha Sasuke knew things about his past that he hadn't even told his father…that was…

"Make your decision already, Naruto."

"Hm?" The blond glanced up unto a pair of jet black eyes which held no traces of humor…or any other emotion for that matter. It was then that he remembered where he was: sitting in a corner booth across from Uchiha Sasuke with a plastic coated menu spread open in front of him.

The woman standing next to their table cracked her gum impatiently and looked less than amused.

"Oh, sorry about that…" He checked her name tag: "…Shizu, I guess I got a little lost in thought. It is pretty early still." The blond chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously. "So…I guess...I'll have…" He paused and frantically scanned the menu for something that sounded yummy.

**.XX.**

Sasuke had never wanted to roll his eyes so badly in the entire time he had known Naruto. They had a full five minutes to look over the menu before their waitress came over to take their orders; it wasn't _that_ hard to decide what to have for breakfast.

He watched the other man staring intently at the menu for the first time since they'd arrived at the café.

It was sort of attractive, that look on his face. The way his eyebrows would crinkle down the center of his forehead, his normally bright blue eyes turned practically luminescent as they narrowed and he was absorbed in whatever he was doing. Sasuke had only seen that expression once before: the first time they'd met. Naruto had been trying to figure out how to advise his customer in the correct way; had been extremely focused on choosing the right words.

**.XX.**

"I would like…" Naruto's eyes scanned up and down the listed items. It had come down to two items, 'Steak and Eggs' and the 'Breakfast of Champions'. He bit his lip. "Um…"

Naruto's menu was suddenly pressed flat to the table. Reluctantly, his blue eyes glanced up at the Uchiha seated across from him. But the man didn't _look_ miffed. Granted, if Uchiha Sasuke ever really _looked_ anything, it was bored.

"Tell me what you're stuck on."

Naruto fought the impulse to snatch his menu from under the raven's fingers and say he was perfectly capable of choosing his own breakfast. But the woman was still waiting, the weariness of her face drawing Naruto's sympathy. He knew all too well what it felt like to be on the last hours of a twelve hour shift, he was going to be pulling one himself later today. So he let the raven help.

"These two." He jabbed a pointer finger at both dishes in question before glancing from his waitress and then back to Sasuke.

The raven didn't even blink as he spoke. "Then order them both."

"But-"

Before he could finish his protest, Sasuke had ordered for him and they were left alone.

"So…" Naruto's voice sounded loud. He winced and tried again, speaking softer this time. "Why breakfast all of a sudden? Not that I'm complaining, mind you, but I guess I'm a little curious is all."

The raven leaned forward, placing his elbows squarely in the table. He smiled. "I have a few short days left to convince you, Naruto. Why should I not capitalize on every second?"

The blond had no answer to that, so instead, he pulled the desert menu over to occupy his mind.

Black forest cake…

Make your own ice cream sundae…

Peach Pie…

Brownie a la mode…

Milkshakes…

"Anything interesting?"

"They all look so good." Naruto heard himself say. Not untruthfully, but his taste buds and growling stomach were in the mood for breakfast, not desert.

"Then order one." Sasuke responded, his gaze studying the Uzumaki's face intently.

"Don't," Naruto pushed the menu away. "You don't have to do that just because I make a stupid comment."

"It's my money," The raven replied. "It is my privilege and my prerogative to spend it how I see fit. And if I expend some of it towards you, why should you be so concerned?"

"Because it's weird!" Naruto snapped back. "I'm not interested in having a sugar daddy. I'm used to having nothing; not eating out, barely making the month's rent, having to skip meals because they're not in the budget. So don't…" He realized his voice was getting louder with each example and he blushed. He began tracing the grains on the tables' surface with an index finger. "You don't…well, so I guess I'm saying that you don't have to spend money to get me to like you."

**.XX.**

"Che," Sasuke wasn't going to read too much into those words. Naruto wasn't confessing; he was just trying to get his own way. But Sasuke wasn't going to let the matter go so easily. "Just because you're used to a certain way of life, doesn't mean that lifestyle out to be maintained." He reached out and touched a forefinger lightly to the back of Naruto's hand. He almost didn't. He had never wanted to casually touch any of his partners before. He'd never woo-ed any of his previous partners though. Naruto made him want to do things, feel things, be things...that was dangerous. But for the time being, it was an acceptable variable. He could go over the consiquences of this later. For now he would do what the blond seemed to need, a little human contact. He could provide that. And if it got him his own way, so much the better.

"I make no apologies for my way of life. I am not ashamed of it."

The blonds' hand had stopped its light tracing and Naruto was staring at the single pale digit stroking the back of his knuckles.

"I'm not telling you to forget about your past. It has shaped who you are. But realize that I will not change completely for your comfort either."

**.XX.**

The nail was short. Naruto felt a lazy warmth spreading over his body as he watched Sasuke's finger trailing back and forth over his hand. He let the raven's words slide easily over him, sexy and rich; hypnotic.

"You have had so little for so long. The orphanage was your existence."

It wasn't an apology Naruto thought. But the raven understood his reasons all the same. It was…a step. Perhaps neither man knew just how large a step it was.

With the thought, he found his voice also. It was soft, as if afraid to shatter this glittering peace they had built between them. "Yeah, except for Iruka, I was there for my whole life."

"It affected you a great deal."

Naruto supposed that the statement was Sasuke's way of asking for details about the place in which he had been raised.

"The orphanage…" There was so much, so many pieces that fit together to form the idea, the memory of that place. He didn't know where to start.

"It wasn't so bad," He found himself falling back on the automatic responses he'd developed over the years, the answers he gave to curious acquaintances and nosy government surveyors. "It took a little getting used to, like everything else, you know?"

His chin was being cupped and tilted up to meet steady black eyes. Strangely, they held the same hypnotic quality as the slender digit which was still present, but had stopped outlining the skin of his knuckles.

"I won't force you."

But Naruto couldn't help himself. Everything he had stored up and hidden was threatening to spill out in one great untidy rush. This man, with whom he had already shared Ichiraku's, his secret, seemed to inspire emotions in him that he hadn't known he was missing until now. He wanted to tell Sasuke everything, not because of any force acting on him, but because it was Sasuke and if anyone could understand him, it was this man sitting before him.

"At first I was sure my parents weren't really dead. I mean, if they were really as amazing as everyone kept saying, then they couldn't have been killed." Melancholy mixed with humor in his chest and he continued. "I remember telling all the kids that I wouldn't be there for long; because my family was coming for me. The caretakers would try to tell me that my mother and father weren't coming back, but I wouldn't listen. I guess I was just as much of a bonehead back then as I am now."

The raven didn't say anything, but removed his hand from Naruto's chin. He seemed to understand that the blond needed no further encouragement. He didn't remove his finger for Naruto's hand though. But the blond had the feeling that if Sasuke did, the mood would leave too.

"I was on my own for most of the time. After I shot my mouth off and everyone found out who my parents had been, they were all too afraid to be my friends. The caretakers would try and get them to play with me, but they didn't have much time or energy to worry about one kid the whole time. They were kind." The blond added as quickly as he thought he could without breaking the sweet serenity of the moment.

"They had a lot to worry about without me adding to their workload. So I just stopped worrying about it. I got good at playing games by myself. It wasn't so bad. Maybe…maybe that's why I used to get into so much trouble."

He thought back to those late night kitchen raids and the many times he had snuck out when he was supposed to be in bed. He'd loved the thrill, the adrenaline of every near miss. It was the only time he really felt alive.

"I was lucky I never got picked up by a gang. I really should have. But somehow, I ended up at Ichiraku's one night. It was enough to keep me going until Iruka showed up."

Silence overwhelmed the tiny corner booth where they sat. But it wasn't uncomfortable this time. Naruto felt as though if he never moved from where he was now, with nothing but Sasuke look at, touch and talk to, he would be content.

Two black pearls gleamed wordlessly back at him, drawing out memories.

"_You're parents and, their parents and their parents and whatever, were all around forever ago. Did you guys have 'Sound' forever ago too?"_

_Sasuke was silent a moment and when he answered, his voice was careful, measured, although, wasn't it always?_

"_I inherited the family business when my parents died, yes."_

He was the same. They were the same.

Sorrow welled up and the blond looked back down to his hand.

**.XX.**

"No child should have to grow up without parents." Naruto's voice came out as no more than a whisper. But the Uchiha heard him and felt his own unanticipated surge of compassion. He found his the rest of his fingers join the first and entwine with Naruto's.

"How did they die?"

**.XX.**

He was still whispering. He could deny that he'd asked the question if Sasuke got annoyed. But the raven didn't remove his hand or his gaze.

"They were murdered."

Naruto gasped. Tears stung his eyes.

"I'm sorry,"

"Usuratonkachi," The warm pad of a thumb brushed softly against his cheek, following the topmost scar. "It's not your burden to bear. You have enough on your own."

"Don't call me that you jerk," He wasn't going to cry. He wasn't going to cry. Not in front of Sasuke. "I haven't fallen apart all these years. I won't break down because of you." Naruto tried to laugh while he rubbed his eyes. The effect was only further disillusionment and the loss of Sasuke's oddly comforting finger on his cheek. "I have to live with all kinds of pain on a daily basis. This isn't going to kill me."

"Sir's," The waitress was back, juggling three hot plates. To the blonds' relief, she seemed was concentrating so hard on not burning herself, she didn't notice the two men's entwined fingers.

The Uchiha withdrew his other hand. Whatever weird spell had been cast around he and Naruto was broken.

**.XX.**

The silence wasn't tense, or at least, not in the way it always had been up until that point in their interactions. This calm was impregnated with a mutual understanding. There was no need for words now. At the moment, all that mattered was the plates before them and the sweetly beckoning aromas of hot food.

Naruto dug in with gusto, savoring at first, but quickly descending to large, untidy mouthfuls. He had never been one to pass up a free meal, another habit he had picked up at the orphanage. He tried not to think about the strings attached to this breakfast, reasoning that this didn't mean he was saying yes. But if this was how the raven intended to treat him for the duration of their…relationship…

He chewed the steak with relish before swallowing slowly, tasting the juices sliding down his tongue. If this was how Sasuke was going to treat him if he did say 'yes', maybe an affirmation wouldn't be so bad.

"Did you read the obituaries in this morning's paper?"

The blond paused in the middle of a mouthful, his ears pricking to the conversation going on behind him.

"No," A second voice replied incredulously. "And I don't understand why you do."

The first voice laughed. "It's just a habit. So I take it that you didn't read the article."

"No, why?"

"Well, there was a rumor running around and today's paper confirmed it."

"What rumor?"

The first voice laughed again. "You know how everybody's been saying that the Commissioner didn't make it out of that explosion?"

The second voice gasped. "Are you serious?"

"It's right here."

The rustle of newspaper preceded several swear words. "Danzo's really dead, I can't believe it"

Naruto's fork clattered to the table.

Sasuke looked up, the only outward indication of his curiosity and startled bewilderment was his eyes. The man didn't ask what was wrong aloud, but the question in his gaze spoke as loudly as if he had been shouted.

"Nothing…I just…" The blond took up his fork again, picking idly at his food. "I just overheard something, that's all."

"How disturbing."

Naruto gave the raven a dower look before spearing a bite of egg on the end of his utensil. He studied the fluffy yellow mouthful without interest.

"Is it true that Commissioner Danzo is dead?"

The raven's look became sharper, but his answer was relaxed. "Yes,"

"Oh," Naruto tried to keep his voice as casual as Sasuke's, but it wasn't. It was too bright, too cheerful.

"Naruto,"

"Hm?" He pushed the fork into his mouth. He didn't meet the raven's eyes, but continued to shove mouthfuls of egg, bacon and sausage into his face.

"Idiot," His fork was stopped halfway to his lips. The Uchiha had laid his own utensil onto the handle of Naruto's loaded fork. "Look at me."

The blond didn't want to, but he didn't have much of a choice. That didn't mean he had to be happy about it. He stared up at Sasuke with a mix between petulance and annoyance written on every line of his sunny features.

"Now what?"

The raven didn't blink at his irritated tone, but continued to stare unwaveringly into his narrowed eyes.

"You care. Why?"

Naruto wanted to deny it and get back to eating the best breakfast he'd had in a long time, but he'd already given himself away the second he dropped his fork.

He sighed hotly, but his expression and voice were no longer aggravated. "Danzo is the reason that I grew up without parents. If it wasn't for him, they would probably still be alive."

**.XX.**

Sasuke retracted his arm. He was satisfied with the explanation for the time being and he sensed that continuing to pursue this particular topic would only result in further aggravation, for both parties. However, the blond had already been ruffled a more than fair amount that that would require some soothing.

"I appreciate your forthrightness."

Naruto's expression lightened visibly and he shook his head. "Can't you just say 'thank you' like a normal person? No," He answered his own question. "Because then you wouldn't be Uchiha Sasuke, the coolest, most mysterious, and sexy bachelor in Konoha." He smacked his forehead. "Silly me, of course your vocabulary is so much more impressive than us 'normal people'."

"Usuratonkachi, stop speaking, you're showing your stupidity."

"How did you do it?"

Sasuke blinked.

The blond continued. "How did you keep yourself from hating the person who killed them? After six years, you have something to remember and to lose; not a…blank spot. How did stop that pain?"

Their waitress sidled up and offered them both more coffee before the raven could answer.

Naruto smiled up at the woman, gratefully taking his refilled coffee cup and thanking her perhaps a little too profusely. As soon as she left them again, the pair returned to their food with renewed gusto.

A quiet tone broke the silence. It continued to buzz insistently until Sasuke pulled out his cell phone. Black eyes flicked briefly over the caller id before he glanced at Naruto. The blond didn't pretend he wasn't looking. He supposed it was sort of unspoken permission for Sasuke to take the call.

"Juugo," The raven greeted whoever was on the other end.

**.XX.**

"Boss," The blond pretended to be absorbed in what remained of his steak. But he was listening as hard as he could. He was curious about this part of Sasuke's life, the portion he knew so little about. But now that he thought about it, there was something oddly familiar…

"We found her."

"I'll meet you at Sound."

Was it his imagination, or did Sasuke seem a little more excited than normal?

"Understood Boss,"

Sasuke ended the call, replacing the phone to his pocket before returning to his nearly finished meal. Like the entire exchange had never happened.

Naruto wanted to ask who the 'she' was that Sasuke had found, but he couldn't think of a way to do it with coming out and saying that he'd been able to hear the whole conversation. And the Uchiha wasn't a total moron he supposed. If Naruto gave him too many clues, then the man might figure out a few things that he would prefer remained under wraps for the time being. This morning had been way too close for his tastes. Way too close.

"So…" He was still curious though. He tried what he hoped was the least suspicious option available to him. "Who was that?"

"One of my managers."

Naruto waited to see if Sasuke would elaborate. He didn't.

The blond tried again. "It sounded important."

He tried not to wince in frustration as the raven's eyebrow arched. He already sounded suspicious. He just hoped that the raven would think it was just curiosity.

"It is," The raven wiped his mouth and then tossed the crumpled napkin onto his plate. "I regret that this matter requires my personal and immediate attention."

The man rose.

"Wait, you're just leaving me here?" Naruto was flabbergasted.

Two jet black orbs fastened on him. "No," Sasuke held out a strong slender hand. "I intended to drive you to The Leaf before this and I still mean to."

"Well can I…" Naruto glanced down at his half finished breakfasts and rubbed the back of his neck. "…get a doggie bag?"

Sasuke smirked and called their waitress over.

* * *

><p>Five minutes later, they were once more seated in Sasuke's incredible ride and speeding along Konoha's awakening streets.<p>

Naruto shifted the warm boxes on his lap, trying not to think about how little he knew about the raven's life away from him. That train didn't end up places he liked.

What did he really know about Uchiha Sasuke? That he could be generous, that he could be kind and patient. He knew that the raven was smart and was running a successful business in this awful economic time. He knew he was sexy, he knew that he was a good kisser.

But was that enough?

The car rolled to a stop in the middle of the _Leaf's_ empty parking lot. It was still early enough that no one would be in to open the café yet.

"Will you be able to get in." Naruto wondered how the raven could ask a question and make it come out as a statement instead.

He nodded. "Yeah, I have a key."

Sasuke made no further comment, but eased back into his seat. The man was obviously waiting for him to get out.

Naruto never really knew what made him ask it: a niggling suspicion, instinct, some sixth sense his powers had granted him, he could never qualify where it came from. But suddenly, the words were coming out and he couldn't help but think: 'Of course,'.

"I'm not going to see you for a while, am I?"

"No," The raven answered at length. "This situation requires the whole of my attention for the foreseeable future."

"Oh," The Uzumaki looked down at his boxes, not sure if he was relieved or miserable. His hands were poised atop the stiff Styrofoam, his thumbs twiddling with one another in the resounding stillness. No, he decided. He wasn't happy that Sasuke was leaving for who knew how long. He wasn't glad that he was getting a break from the man. He wasn't thankful that the only time he would ever have to see this man's face again, was when he told him 'so long and thanks for all the fish'. He wasn't excited.

He was sad.

Before he could rethink the impulse, Naruto had unbuckled and grabbed the raven. Two kinds of silk slid and pressed into the pads of his fingers, the skin of Sasuke's jaw and the thick jet black ribbons of the man's hair. And then a third silk was pressed to his lips as he pulled the man closer.

It was awkward at first. He could feel the boxes on his lap starting to slip as he leaned his body further towards Sasuke. But then he felt the raven's fingers pull the packages off his lap and lay them on the floor. And he was free to push closer, to slide his mouth back and forth against the Uchiha's.

This too was his choice; not something Sasuke had asked of him. This was his.

And then they parted, neither breathing hard. Without a word, Sasuke returned Naruto's leftovers to his hands.

It wasn't until the car had disappeared from view that Naruto realized what he had done.

He had kissed Sasuke, but it had been…he didn't…wasn't sure he could explain the enormity of everything it implied. He had intended it to be a quick good-bye, four lips shaking hands, but somehow, somewhere the message had changed.

The kiss had started as nothing more than a brush of lips, a soft constant contact, but it had become so much more by the time they parted. The blond had felt something, a shipment he had accepted delivery for. But didn't know what that shipment held. He couldn't identify the foreign roiling churn in his chest as he watched the tail lights disappear in the throng of morning traffic.

But through the alien tumult, one emotion remained constant.

He was sad.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Author note:<span> I was looking through the list of ratings and realized that my story should be a MA, not just an M, because of all gang violence descriptions I put in. But when I checked the ratings, I found out that FF only has M. So if you guys weren't expecting the gore... or all the sexy stuff, sorry. I blame Fanfiction (smiles wickedly).**

**Until next time**

**Remember that your imput will affect my output. Reviews stoke my creative flames!**


	18. Chapter18: Building Up

**I'm at 100 reviews! Yeah! That doesn't mean that you should stop. No, no, that means that you shouldn't be ashamed to write me little brurbs since lots of other people have a hundred times already!**

**Thanks for the reviews!**

**This is a shorter chapter, but it sets up the next...well...I'll let you read it and find out. ;**

**On we roll**

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><p><strong>Chapter_18: Building Up<strong>

Three days is a long time to wonder. For those lucky few who hold no serious thoughts, nor struggle in life, it is a relatively short and generally pleasant period of time used up with family and friends with no worries to cloud the carefree atmosphere.

The last three days of _Naruto's_ life was not spent thus.

As he searched for the Akatsuki hideout, his mind continued to plague him with…confusion, confliction and new, frightening uncertainty.

Naruto wiped the thick sleet from his eyes, keeping his ears sharp for the slightest trace of sound or movement. He couldn't smell anything with this heavy downpour. The weather had remained staunchly uncooperative through the last seven days, yet another element which did nothing to improve Naruto's cheery disposition.

He was beginning to wonder if he would ever find this marauding band of reprobates or if he would spend the remainder of his days fruitlessly combing through the crumbling remnants of a once prosperous city. Was Akatsuki watching him now? Were they laughing at him because of his arrogance, because he'd thought he could find them? Leering and heckling as he battled his way uselessly through the brutal wind and cold sleet?

No they weren't, but that thought didn't help his mood any either.

One upside was that he hadn't seen a single Hebi through all his trudging and exploring in the city's underbelly. He didn't know what would have happened if he'd seen that Suigetsu character selling crack on the sidewalk.

Maybe they were hiding.

The blond peeled himself from the slight shelter of the wall and began to crawl up its side. The wind lashed at the exposed upper half of his face, whipping his hair around to sting the back of his neck. He grit his teeth and continued his climb, feeling his way upwards. The brick crumbled easily under his fingers, allowing the digits to puncture into the moldering stone, aiding his upward ascent.

He crested the parapet at last, exposing his body completely to the harsh and driving elements.

Naruto looked out across what he could see of the city from his vantage point. He reached into his jacket and pulled out the map the gang boss had sent him earlier in the week.

The paper flapped, trying to escape his grasp and fly away in the heavy wind. The blond growled in frustration as his eyes raked across the dark marker stains scratched into the map's surface.

This had probably been the most useful portion of the packet Boss Hebi had sent to him via a slightly disgruntled Suigetsu.

He could see why it was the Hebi gang was known for information. The detail included in that single manila envelope was incredible.

Every Akatsuki sighting had been marked down on the map of Southern Konoha in bold red strokes. Every building Naruto had searched sported a thick black slash through it.

The ratio of black slashes to red marks was steadily growing higher with each successive search.

He was starting to second guess himself. What if he had missed them somehow? What if he'd over looked something; a secret passage, a hidden door, a tunnel that led to the real Akatsuki hideout? Could he have failed to see something so basic? Could he afford to risk it if he had?

He saw the flash of red the instant he heard them.

"We've kept them waiting for too long. You always play too much with your food."

"They won't start without us, Sasori, my man. You worry too much."

Naruto peered through the hazy half-frozen rain and suddenly recognized the coats. He growled, a mix between triumph and shock, before leaping headfirst off the building. This was what he had been waiting for.

He tucked his head and rolled; a feat he could only accomplish when he was Kyuubi. He felt the impact of slick pavement against his spine and slide down with his motion. He skidded a little, pushing up to his feet and slipping to the cover of a nearby doorway with the remainder of his momentum.

Naruto paused to listen and cursed silently. The voices had stopped. Had he missed them? Had they already gone on?

"I saw something."

His heart leapt up into his throat. The voice had come from the other side, just beyond the concealing lip of the doorframe. And it was getting closer.

"Don't be stupid," To Naruto's incredible relief, when the second Akatsuki spoke, the first set of footsteps stopped. "You can't see anything in this rain. Let's go, we're late."

The very air around Naruto seem to be holding its breath, waiting…

"Fine, whatever," The blond exhaled. He didn't want to tip his hand before these two led him to their hideout. After he knew where to lead the authorities, he could be as out in the open as those suckers wanted.

Naruto risked a quick peek around the corner of his hiding place and saw the hem of a black coat disappear into an alley. He waited, counting a slow 10 in his head before stepping out into the elements once again.

When no one jumped immediately out to attack him, the superhero took it as a sign that he was in the clear to follow.

He darted to the alley into which the Akatsuki disappeared. Carefully, slowly, he began to creep inwards. He had no desire to be taken by surprise, not when he was so close.

Up ahead a door creaked. The blond flattened himself up against the dilapidated brick, willing himself to become one with the stone. He didn't actually disappear, but if someone were to look down the dark passage, unless they had elite vision like he did, they wouldn't be able to pick out a form.

He counted a second set of 10.

Nothing.

And then there was a second creek, a barely audible 'click', then…only the steady thrum of droplets splashing onto concrete.

He was moving, sprinting up to the origin of the sounds.

A door.

Expert eyes flicked across its surface, the jam, the hinges and handle. He could detect no signs of traps.

The blond eased the door open and thrust himself inside. The instant the door shut behind him, he was drowned in total blackness.

He could still hear the rain drilling against the street outside, but the noise was much softer now that he had the walls between himself and it.

Nothing moved in the darkness beyond. The superhero took a hesitant step forward, testing the floor beneath his feet. It was concrete. Good, that meant he didn't have to worry about the floorboards giving him away. Nevertheless, he continued to walk with caution, trying each step before he set his full weight down.

His eyes strained to see in this unnaturally thick black. He could make out the form of stairs climbing upwards, but he couldn't risk it. The steps looked ancient. And even if they held his wait, they wouldn't do it without audible protest. Kyuubi worked best in silence.

He approached the bottom step and looked up. He could make out a ledge. It's original purpose might've been to guard against anyone on the second floor tripping and falling down the stairs. But right now, it was exactly what Naruto needed as a landing zone.

The blond took a second to guesstimate the distance and braced himself for the leap. He couldn't screw this up. If he did...Naruto shook his head. He _couldn't_ mess this up.

He jumped, his hands outstretched, his fingers curving into the solid wood of the banister. He hit the edge and pulled his body the rest of the way over it. To his immense satisfaction, the wooden structure had emitted only the smallest of squeaks as he'd hauled himself up.

Naruto paused, pricking his ears, and grinned.

The sound of quarrelling voices was faintly coming from his left, further in.

With the same infinite care he had taken when navigating the last level, Naruto paced closer to the disturbance. The shouting grew louder with every careful step he took. When he stopped to search for his next stride, he could make out little pieces of the argument.

"…need to stop…"

"You're…too much time…"

"…wrong with that?"

"…blow those…up…"

"That's…solution to everything…"

Naruto frowned. He didn't know what to make of the tidbits he was getting. He had to get closer.

He could see a door on the far side of the hall, opened only a fraction. That fraction was enough to spill both light and sound out to him. But would it do the reverse for those inside?

The blond pressed himself into the wall next to the portal, risking a look inside the brightly lit room.

Seven figures, all dressed in the same black coats, were gathered. Most leaned on chairs or an ancient couch, a few had taken places on the floor. One, Naruto couldn't tell anything beyond flaming red hair, was sprawled lazily across the old wood. They were all arguing, with the exception of two people Naruto hadn't noticed until then.

A woman; she was pretty. It was stupid how strange describing a girl that way seemed now that he admittedly found Sasuke attractive. Before he realized what he was doing, he found himself comparing how much smoother the raven's skin looked to this woman's. Naruto felt laughter bubbling in his chest and squashed it. That was probably the worst way to get discovered by Akatsuki ever: giggling like a schoolgirl.

He returned his focus to cataloging as much information as he could on each individual Akatsuki member. His gaze flicked to the next upright figure and felt his blood run cold.

The second was a man, pierced and…odd. There was no other way to describe him. The man radiated a disquieting aura of pure malice even while he said nothing. Or maybe it was because he said nothing that he was so much more unsettling.

"Silence,"

Instantly, the room quieted. Naruto's breath silently hitched as his heartbeat began to pound in his ears. Had he been caught?

"The time has come to put our plans into motion."

No, he hadn't. The blond gulped down a relieved sigh and focused in on the crowded room nearby.

A murmur that sounded like: 'finally' to the blond passed over the seven gathered figures. That the leader had heard was obvious, but if he intended to address the matter it seemed he would do it later. He continued to speak, his voice almost bored.

"We have the names, what Danzo gave us before his death."

"We already know that," A tall man spoke, baring his sharp teeth as he interrupted his leader. "Why don't you just let us know what it is we're supposed to do?"

"Yeah," Put in another, his silvery hair and eyes reminding Naruto of a sable. "And don't be so ambiguous. It's hard to follow instructions when you don't know what you're supposed to do. Even Kakazu doesn't mince words like you do."

"Hidan," Came a murderous voice to the man's immediate right. "If you don't stop speaking, I'll kill you."

Hidan, apparently used to such language from the other, laughed, but made no further comment.

The tall man, who had first interrupted his leader, opened his mouth again.

"Kisame stop this useless prattle," The red-haired Akatsuki lying on the floor sighed. "Let the man speak."

The tall man whirled and for a moment it looked like he was going to curb stomp his comrade.

"I'll talk whenever I want to you little dipshi-"

"That's enough." It was the woman who spoke this time, her voice cutting smartly through what would have been another descent into chaos. "If you're so impatient to hear, then listen."

"We have clear targets." The Akatsuki leader continued as if he had never been cut off. "The time has come to shake Konoha's foundations, if we sever the snakes head, the body will die. It is thus so with every city. Cut off the tumultuous masses from their leaders and they will crumble into dust."

The tall man named 'Kisame' began to laugh, sharp, short bursts of mirth which startled Naruto. "That," He grinned, his pointed teeth bared with malicious fullness. "Is what we've been waiting months for. That's the brilliant plan?"

"So, so you want me to blow them up, my man Pain?" This came from a slender blond man leaning against the far wall. The question was punctuated by a low, but mad chuckle. "That's fine with me. I'll show them true art."

The redhead on the floor snorted, but made no further comment. His blond companion scowled.

"A bomb will suffice." The many-pierced man affirmed before once more addressing the entire room. "We will deal with this city's teetering government. After the Hokage is disposed of, the rest will fall naturally into place."

Naruto sucked in a breath. This was the Akatsuki's plan? They were going to kill the Hokage, blow up the state building just like they did the police station?

"How much longer are you expecting us to wait, Pain? I'm not going to wait forever."

The many-pierced man turned to Kisame…and smiled.

Kyuubi felt himself shiver. That small upturning of lips was ominous; a razors' kiss. It promised horror and suffering far beyond all human imagination and endurance.

"It will begin before the sun rises on another day."

Naruto sprinted to the lip he had only minutes before dragged himself over. He swung down, pushing silently off the wall as he dropped, giving him the few extra feet he needed to clear the last of the stairs before landing on the compact concrete with no more than a creak of leather.

Tomorrow morning, this city was going to become Hell. He had to warn Sasuke, had to get him away while there was still time.

He exited the old building, letting the heavy rainfall soak into his hair as he ran.

His mind raced along with his body. Three separate obligations raged and battled for first priority. He had promised to let Kakashi know the second he found something, to give them time to prepare a defensive strategy. But at the same time, he wanted to get Iruka away from Konoha, at least until all this business was finished one way or another. And he wanted, needed to find Sasuke, to make sure that he was safe. But he would have to find the raven before he could deliver that message and he didn't know how long such a search would take. He didn't know where Sasuke was. At the time, kissing Sasuke had seemed vastly more important than asking him for his itinerary. The last thing he expected to happen three days ago was Akatsuki to make their move.

A wild thought struck Naruto. What if Sasuke's urgent business had called him out of Konoha?

He still felt the cold grip of worry at his sternum, but it had lessened some. It wasn't much, but it was enough. He had to warn Kakashi and Iruka first and then…

Naruto sprang, pushing up the building in front of him. He straightened. Konoha had never looked so big before.

Would he find Sasuke in time? Would the raven even listen to him?

The raven would argue that he didn't need protecting. Would have told Naruto to stop thinking so much and just do what he had to. He could even see Sasuke's face as he said those words. His eyebrows would furrow ever so slightly above his oddly expressive eyes and his lips would tighten almost imperceptibly. But beneath all that, the raven would be smirking, letting Naruto know that it wasn't a big deal. He was a big boy.

Naruto felt his heart tighten painfully. But he had to turn, to run, towards the people who needed his protection.

**.:xXXx:.**

Iruka was having the best week of his life. His kids at school were being abnormally polite and quiet. He had just finished moving in with Kakashi and he was just putting the final touches on Naruto's 24th birthday present. It was a little late, but he had been so caught up with life, he hadn't even thought about the absentee blond until Kakashi asked him what the big red circle around October 10th meant.

He was planning on dropping the big gift wrapped package off at Naruto's apartment later that night along with some homemade Osaka that his foster son was fond of.

He wasn't expecting his son to find him.

The doorbell only rang once before Iruka's new home was forcibly invaded by a blur of yellow hair and black leather.

"Iruka!" The superhero yelled, stepping nimbly over the doormat. "Iruka!"

"Naruto, how many times have I told you to wipe your feet when you come inside?"

The blond couldn't help but grin as the familiarly chiding voice and its owner hurried up to him.

"I came looking for you." He felt as though this was a rather obvious statement, but the brunette didn't comment. He drew his foster child further inside and tried to kick-close the door. The last thing he needed was the neighbors to start asking questions.

"What's the matter Naruto?" He couldn't help the parent coming out a little in his voice. Old habits die hard after all. The last time he had seen the blond, he was preparing to go in after the Akatsuki. He felt his pulse jumpstart and stutter.

"Did you…did you find them?" His voice was a harsh whisper, fear weaving thin filaments into it; because he already knew the answer.

"Yeah," The blood red eyes dimmed a little, and began to turn blue, but the intensity behind them did not diminish. "Iruka, you have to leave Konoha."

"What?" The brunette jerked in surprise. "But I…everything, I can't just…"

"Please," His son pleaded, gripping him by the shoulders. "I heard them. This city is going to become the most dangerous place to be very soon and I want you to be far away when it does."

Iruka slumped. He wasn't sure whether he should laugh, thank his son, or burst into tears. He would go, of course, what else _could_ he do? But that small part of him that was still Naruto's father asked: "What about you."

Like before, he knew what the answer would be even as the words left his mouth. His son would stay. It was his choice, his destiny to be here while the world fell apart. This was what Naruto was born to do. He was fated to fight for Konoha, to battle and protect it with all his might.

But as the tears spilled down the brunette's cheeks, he hoped upon hope that his son would not have to die for Konoha as well.

"Will you give Kakashi this?" The blond pressed a thick envelope into his foster father's hands. "It's everything I can remember plus some information I got from Hebi. The Akatsuki…" Iruka shook his head.

He gave Naruto a sad smile as his fingers closed around the Manila paper. "The less I know about all this, the better."

The blond grinned back, even though it was hidden behind his mask.

"I have to go," Naruto tried not to let guilt overcome the moment of happiness. But he had other friends to warn, to make sure they were safe.

Iruka didn't look mad, but nodded. The goodbye between them was silent. You didn't say farewell when the ones you loved went off to war, but with your heart.

The brunette felt tears sting his eyes and tried to blink them away, wanting to keep Naruto in his sight for as long as he could. But between one blink and the next…his son was gone.

**.:xXXx:.**

There wasn't much left.

Sasuke's eyes ran along the pictures. The dozen digital graphic displayed gruesomely torn flesh and wet decay; all that was left of Danzo's regular call girl.

Akatsuki had done a job on her, he had to admit that. Her face was gone, literally cut from her skull; her teeth had been yanked out, her hair shorn down to a thick fuzz. Every distinguishing facial feature was gone. And then they dumped her carcass into the Konoha River. It was why Juugo had taken so long to find her.

But this woman hadn't been a complete fool. Or perhaps she was simply paranoid. For whatever reason; before her death, she'd had information tattooed on the inside of her right thigh.

The raven studied the flaccid limb dispassionately. She might've known that something like this would happen to her; that someone might want to erase her. She was as close to a gang collaborator as anyone could physically be. If she were intelligent, she would have realized that it was only a matter of time. It seemed she was. It explained why she had taken such unorthodox precautions to ensure no matter how completely her killers disposed of normal means of identification, whoever found her body would still be able to find out who she was.

He read the name etched neatly into the once perfect thigh. The words registered, but meant nothing to him beyond what he already knew.

This at one time was the prostitute Danzo had employed on a regular basis. She was, according to his information, the last person to see the Konoha Police Commissioner alive.

He had hoped that she was still alive when he had instigated this search. She would have been able to answer some questions which had, up to this point, remained unacceptably unanswered.

They would have to stay that way a little longer it seemed. Unless…

Strong slender fingers traced the black VHS case. Juugo had gone to the woman's address and searched the place. His discovery of a hidden stash of documents and video footage under the floor was not an unpleasant development.

The raven had spent the last twelve hours picking through the gathered media with a fine tooth comb. And what he discovered was that every single item, whether document, audio or visual incriminated Danzo conclusively for a startlingly wide range of crimes.

It looked to him as though the Commissioner's prostitute had been planning to break away from her employer just before she was killed.

The majority of the cases meant little to Sasuke. Most were simple instances of social disturbance or favoritism. One was a file of Danzo's early dealings with Hebi and a one: Uchiha Sasuke, a fairly detailed outline of favors to be exchanged under certain preset circumstances. It wasn't a problem any longer. He had incinerated the compilation after a thorough perusal. And he knew there was nothing left of Danzo's office to connect him to Hebi or anything else.

But there was this one tape that still remained staunchly mysterious. It was the last piece of evidence, in the small pile. Perhaps it was one of the first grabs that whore had made.

There was nothing remarkable about the video cassette itself; black, plastic, white title stuck to the front. It was all exactly what one would expect to see from a VHS tape. The single phrase scribbled on the title line caught his eye:

_October 10th, Konoha Community Hospital._

Now he was just waiting for Suigetsu to get come back with the VCR.

"Go home."

Juugo, who had up to this point, remained immobile to the raven's right, nodded once to acknowledge his Boss and wasted no more of his precious free time with words.

Sasuke picked up the tape and studied it. He was beginning to understand what was going on, even if the details were, as of yet, eluding him.

The prostitute had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. The testimony of the police officer placed her in Danzo's office minutes before the explosion. But she had not been in the building when it the bomb detonated, he had evidence of that before him now. So she had seen something, something that meant she was too dangerous to leave as a loose end.

The brutality of her demise was proof enough for Sasuke that Akatsuki had been behind the murder. So it followed that it had been the Akatsuki in the police station that night. By the same logic, it must have been them who had exploded the station.

But before that, they had been speaking with Danzo. For what? What did they ask him?

The Uchiha felt his blood run cold. The Commissioner was the only contact who had known the true identity of Boss Hebi. What if they had found out?

But that was absurd. If they had managed to get Danzo to talk, wouldn't they have made a move to dispose him by now?

If it had been anyone else, Sasuke would have shrugged the implications off. But it was not anyone else. This was the Akatsuki.

If they knew, what were they waiting for?

He didn't know it, but at that moment, only a mile from where he now sat, Akatsuki was no longer waiting.

The Akatsuki were on the move.

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><p><strong><span>Author's note<span>: So, I had absolutley no idea what to title this chapter, everything just seemed too cliche or it didn't fit. 'Sigh' Anyway, good news for all of you:**

**I finally sat down and plunked out a solid outline for the rest of the story. So updates should be coming fast and furious. (Watch, now that I said that, I'm going to have nothing but homework :p)**

**Okay, honest oppinion time: I am a little worried about the lack of response to my WIP: Mortis. Should I discontinue it? Don't be mean, but I can handle you telling me that I should get rid of it if no one wants to read it.**

**Review please!**

**TTFN (tee hee, tigger)**


	19. Chapter19: War

**Thanks for all the reviews everybody! I got to 100 and beyond! Now let's get to 1000! ha, ha, just kidding. Don't freak out, I wouldn't do that to you.**

**I know that appologizing for my extended abcence won't update my story on a regular basis, but I feel like I ought to. Sorry everybody. This chapter was a pain in the posterior to write and I'm still not happy with it. Anyway, a big thank you to my editor who worked me through it. Rikado! You're my number 1!**

**So here you all are, the forbidden chapter...not really, but here you are anyway.**

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><p><strong>Chater_19: War<strong>

Iruka was gone.

Kakashi had seen him off late last night. It hurt to watch his lover drive away, but he knew that it was better this way. Iruka wasn't trained to handle weapons and the detective knew that the brunette would want to stay by his side if he were in Konoha. That was just how Iruka worked.

He had work to occupy himself with, building up the concrete walls that surrounded Hockage tower. He and his men had worked through the night, but they had finished in those last few minutes when pre-dawn twinkled pearly grey. And then all they had to do was wait for the Akatsuki to arrive.

They didn't have to wait long.

It started with a bang. Not in the metaphoric sense, where everything is going the way you want it too. Konoha's first gang war was started with a very literal, very loud and very serious 'bang'. The body lying split open on the cold ground was evidence enough of that.

Kakashi pulled his attention away from what remained of the fallen woman and slapped another clip into his pistol. The constant crack of gunfire blurred together into one steady rush of white noise. But the flow was too constant for the detective's liking. The rate of exchange between his men and Akatsuki was too one sided.

"Don't waste ammunition." He spoke into the headset on his ear, rifling through the half empty duffel bag of ammo clips he and eleven, now ten, others had to share. "Pick your shots carefully. The Akatsuki have the advantage of supplies and I don't want you wasting bullets on the buildings."

His advice elicited a hail of hasty affirmatives from the fifty men under his command.

The number of shots decreased dramatically and Kakashi sighed in relief. He could handle trainees when it was time to handle them, but this wasn't the time to hold hands and coddle green-horns. Thankfully, it seemed the men Kyuubi had found were not completely green. They could take orders if nothing else.

"I'm not going to sit here forever, Kakashi, let me do something."

The detective ignored Kyuubi, choosing instead to peek over the barrier's edge. He jerked back quickly. Whoever was on the other side was gunning for him and wasn't worried about waiting. He wasn't going to be able to do any damage this way.

"Yamato," He spoke carefully into the microphone.

"I'm here."

The man sounded tired.

"I'm pinned down here. Can you get a look at the guy?"

"I can't Kakashi, I've got problems of my own over here."

"Roger, thanks anyway," The detective swore to himself. It couldn't be helped, he supposed. Yamato was dealing with his own Akatsuki.

"I'll do it."

"Don't worry about it." Kakashi waved the superhero's comment hero off. "Yamato can handle it. We'll use you later."

"As what: a last ditch resort?"

The detective ignored the man's last comment. He had more important things to do than coddle Kyuubi. He had a war to win.

**.XX.**

When the detective didn't answer, Kyuubi growled. He wanted nothing more than to grab the man and shake him until he understood. But he was miles away from the center of the city, safeguarding Shikamaru, so instead he shouted into the headset. "Look! I'm not going to just sit here and let you all get killed. I'm going to do my part."

Kakashi's sigh was interspersed with static. "You're doing your job by not getting in the line of fire right now."

The blonds' expression only hardened and he spat contemptuously. He knew Kakashi couldn't see his face, but he couldn't help his aura visibly darkening. "I'm not going to just sit twiddling my thumbs while everyone else is defending Konoha with their lives. Let me get out there."

"You really are an idiot," The detective whispered harshly. "You're the only one who's seen their leader and overheard them plotting to kill the Hokage. Shikamaru is the only one who witnessed the murder of those other gang members. You are both critical." He wished he could reach out and shake the blond. "Do you understand? Your job is to not get killed."

Behind flaming red eyes, compliance and stubborn pig-headedness battled for control. It was a battle that Kakashi could feel rather than see.

At last the man barked in displeasure and paced back to the lumpy couch, easing back against the tattered green material.

"I understand." He rumbled and Kakashi heard the underlying message. 'I understand, I don't _like_ it, but I understand.'

Kakashi chanced another glance to the side, hoping that the guy had gotten distracted by another target. No such luck. He actually felt the heat of the bullet tear across the skin of his cheek. Too close.

**.XX.**

Naruto pressed his body deeper into the sofa, hating himself for it. He was supposed to be helping, that's why he came back: to protect Konoha, his friends, those he…he loved…

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru had tried playing Shouji with him once, but the attempt had ended in disaster. After that, the two men were content to ignore one another for the most part. Shikamaru seemed to have no idea how to interact with the enigma of a vigilante draped in tight black leather and Naruto didn't want his friend to figure out that he was…well, Naruto. This unfortunately made the hours drag by with nothing but a few outdated comics to read.

Naruto hated not doing anything because all he had to do was think and wait. And when he thought, his mind would always turn to…Sasuke…

He had searched.

He tried to ease the guilt in his chest with those words, but this time, like every time before, they did nothing.

Everywhere he could think of looking, he had gone: Sound, the raven's apartment, Leaf. The man had simply vanished. In the end, at the last possible moment before Akatsuki had begun their attack, Naruto had stood atop the highest building he could find. He had drawn in the scents around him, searching madly for that beautiful mixture of sheets and rain, clawing, begging Sasuke to be on the wind. But everything had swirled together and in his distress, his mind muddied with thoughts of the dying, he could find nothing.

Naruto toyed absently with his zipper while he tried to reason that it was all for the best. It was better that Sasuke wasn't here when this finally went down. The fact that he wasn't anywhere to be found meant that he was safe and out of the way. It _was_ good that Sasuke wasn't here.

But it sounded so much like he was trying to convince himself. He wasn't. It was _great_ that he couldn't find the raven; it was _perfect_ that he was out of the way, _wonderful_ that he wouldn't be in danger.

An earsplitting 'boom' rent the air. Naruto jumped as his ears rang, almost drowning out the garbled shrieks of whomever it was that had been hit. Almost…

The man in his earpiece cursed. He had tried to get a shot again, and was rebuffed. Apparently, whoever was on the other side was still waiting.

They were dying, they were all dying and Naruto was sitting here, under cover. This was the end, if they couldn't stop Akatsuki here, then it wouldn't stop with the Hokage, no one would be safe. Iruka…Sakura…Ino…Kiba…Hinata…Shikamaru…Kakashi…

_Sasuke…_

He had to stop this now. He had to protect…everyone. He knew that his duty was to Konoha, but now, more than ever before, the ravens' pale visage continued to plague him each time he closed his eyes.

Why was that man so much more important than the friendships he had made or the man who had raised him?

'No! Oh, Lord please! Not…ah! My leg, not my…oh Go-AH!'

Naruto jerked upright, the man's screams deteriorating quickly into incoherency, increasing in agony. The anguished cries died as suddenly as they had started, cold cruel laughter echoing in the background. And then a cool calm voice spoke over the radio in Naruto's and every other Cops' headset.

'This is the end for all who oppose me...run away puny creatures, or die.'

Red threaded across the edges of his vision and Naruto could feel his power bubbling up, a swirling roaring torrent that should have frightened him, that edge he had always held back from. But this time he was not afraid.

"Don't Kyuubi! Stay where you are. We can handle this." Kakashi screamed into his ear.

But they couldn't. If he didn't go, they were all going to die. Naruto opened himself up to the rushing flood of red; spread his arms wide, leapt…

…And drowned in power.

A voice that was subtly sweet whispered in his ear. _His own conscience_, he thought but it was tainted and twisted and sick. It crooned and soothed as his body became a writhing mass of explosive energy.

'Kill…_kill_…'

He could do that. He **should** to that.

_Now_.

**.XX.**

He was among them between one blink and the next. Sasori had time only to cry out before he was tossed aside, a rag doll in the middle of a hurricane.

The red haired Akatsuki tried to push himself up, he reached for a weapon, but it was no use.

He grunted once as the first steel pipe sank home. But there was no pain. He supposed that his body would register that later, after his endorphin levels had dropped back down to normal, if he lived that long.

Insane laughter echoed distantly in his ears, accented by the high-pitched pop of gunshots. It was only right, he supposed as he tried to flex ineffectually. His comrades would not let this monster live since it had attacked one of their numbers.

But the pops continued, far longer than they normally would have. And there were no triumphant exaltations; no begrudging congratulations and no one came over to see if he was still alive.

And then the second pole pierced his chest, flooding his thoracic cavity with a viscous mixture of crushed bone and blood. It was then that Sasori realized the truth.

He was going to die.

The finality of it struck him. The irony of his fate shook broken laughter from his icor stained lips. He, the man who lived for eternity, who begrudged every passing second, he is the one who will die before his time.

His chest hurt now. Blinding sheets of agony covered him, scalding and biting cold; both at once. At the same time, a tingling numbness had settled in his fingers. He could no longer move his arms. He could no longer move his legs. It should have frightened him, should have made him scream and cry for his mother. But he was not afraid.

Somewhere in the distance, beyond the blackness which had seeped over his eyes, he could hear gunshots still popping. His comrades were still running around like ants, trying to stay alive; like him.

He was going to die, but he was not afraid.

Sasori closed his eyes for the last time, a faint smile tracing his dead lips.

Eternity stretched wide before him.

**.XX.**

He was lost in the moment, the struggle, the blood and screams and gunshots. He couldn't see them, but he could feel them, taste them, smell them…Kill them…

His senses overflowed, spiked and he floundered in the maelstrom of power that was Kyuubi. This was what he had feared? This is what he had turned from? This was the key to destroying Akatsuki…Hebi…anyone and everyone in his way. This was everything he wanted, needed.

He heard himself roar. It sounded far more animal than human. It should have woken him up, should have terrified him. But it did neither. He felt empowered, strengthened, delighted.

The first Akatsuki fell with ease, pierced by a pipe, jagged and cruelly barbed where it had been shorn away from wherever it really belonged. Kyuubi didn't care about little details like that. If the other man's death was painful, so much the better. He deserved every ounce of suffering and punishment that could be matted out; a token retribution for all the horrors that he had committed.

The hero of Konoha had driven his second in merely for sport and spite. And because he loved the way the red-headed man would unconsciously gurgle and thrash, his hands gripping ineffectually against the iron pinning him to the ground.

And then he was on the ground, his face upturned to the overcast sky. A face blotted out the sky and then the round point of a gun muzzle was descending.

It was in that moment, as Naruto watched the gun slow to a stop inches from his face, that time seemed to slow…slow…slow…

He watched with fascinated horror as the Akatsuki's finger moved to the trigger and gently, almost sweetly caress the shaped metal. He was going to die. But in the end, he wasn't thinking about how much he hated the man above him. He wasn't hoping that his death would mean something. He wasn't wondering if Iruka or anyone else was going to be all right. In that split second between life and death, Naruto saw one face, one perfect pale face in his mind's eye.

_Sasuke… _

**.XX.**

_"Uzumaki," Naruto, risked putting his hand out first. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto."_

_His hand was encased by sturdy white fingers. They were slender, but surprisingly strong._

_"Uchiha Sasuke."_

* * *

><p><strong><em>Every time he'd seen Sasuke, at 'Leaf', at 'Sound', taking a walk down the street, the man had been by himself. There had never once been a companion, or a friend, or a family member, not a single time, never.<em>**

**_Pity swelled inside Naruto._**

* * *

><p>"<em>Oh, come on Sasuke." Naruto's grin was irksome and filled with a certain ignorance that was also amusing. "I know that you like me, at least a little."<em>

* * *

><p><strong>"<em>What if I said that you were right?"<em>**

* * *

><p>"<em>Naruto," Sasuke's response was stern, demanding. "Ask me properly." <em>

_The fingers clasping his back tightened further, if that were humanly possible. And then the raven was being embraced, in the literal sense. Arms had reached around to wrap across his chest. A strong, well-muscled torso was being pressed fully against his back, a soft cheek lain upon the top if his spine._

_I've never done anything like this before..." The Uzumaki said. "I…would like to try…with you."_

* * *

><p><strong><em>Naruto trembled as Sasuke's tongue continued to skim and play with the inside of his mouth.<em> _This was nothing like his first, sloppy, fumbling kiss of eight years ago. This was unique, fresh, clean and new. He'd expected heat, expected domination and subjugation by submitting himself to this man. But that hadn't happened. He wasn't being forced, or coerced. In fact, the raven-haired man had given him every opportunity to walk away and now, when he had Naruto at his mercy, he took nothing more than the blond was willing to give._**

**Realization made his knees weak. _This kiss, this man, was _**_seducing_**_him…_**

* * *

><p>"<em>I was content with things…looking for that one missing component in my life, but happy with how everything had worked out…And then <em>_**you**__ happened." Naruto reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "And now…I'm not sure if I can handle anything like this right now, I'm not sure if you're that missing piece. I don't know if I should even try to keep you here with me, if I'm just tempting fate. I need to figure out if I should just cut my losses and walk away before I get hurt again."_

* * *

><p><strong>"<em>I understand Naruto," The brunette's voice was detached, but strangely, Naruto found comfort in this man's rough words, was soothed by the gentle rumbling baritone pouring into his ears. It was just as reassuring as one of Iruka's hugs. <em>**

**"_You want to know if I fit with your life. Then do. Do whatever you feel you have to. I won't stop you."_**

* * *

><p>"I was six when my parents were killed." The raven said.<p>

* * *

><p><strong><em>Okay, so that was probably a little unfair. The brunette wasn't so terrible; a tad…stoic, and he could be controlling, but the man was…<em>**

_**Yes, alright, Sasuke was kind!** _

* * *

><p><em>Naruto couldn't stop himself from speaking. Everything he had stored up and hidden was threatening to spill out in one great untidy rush. This man, with whom he had already shared Ichiraku's, his secret, seemed to inspire emotions in him that he hadn't known he was missing until now. He wanted to tell Sasuke everything, but not because of any force acting on him, but because it was Sasuke and if anyone could understand him, it was this man sitting before him.<em>

* * *

><p><strong><em>Silence overwhelmed the tiny corner booth where they sat. But it wasn't uncomfortable this time. Naruto felt as though if he never moved from where he was now, with nothing but Sasuke look at, touch and talk to, he would be content.<em>**

* * *

><p>"<em>I'm not going to see you for a while, am I?"<em>

"_No," The raven answered at length._

"_Oh," The Uzumaki looked down at his boxes, not sure if he was relieved or miserable. . No, he decided. He wasn't happy that Sasuke was leaving for who knew how long. He wasn't glad that he was getting a break from the man. He wasn't thankful that the only time he would ever have to see this man's face again, was when he told him 'so long and thanks for all the fish'. He wasn't excited._

_He was sad_.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Naruto unbuckled and grabbed the raven. Two kinds of silk slid and pressed into the pads of his fingers, the skin of Sasuke's jaw and the thick jet black ribbons of the man's hair. And then a third silk was pressed to his lips as he pulled the man closer.<em>**

**_It was awkward at first. He could feel the boxes on his lap starting to slip as he leaned his body further towards Sasuke. But then he felt the raven's fingers pull the packages off his lap and lay them on the floor. And he was free to push closer, to slide his mouth back and forth against the Uchiha's._**

**_This too was his choice; not something Sasuke had asked of him. This was his._**

* * *

><p><em>It wasn't until the car had disappeared from view that Naruto realized what he had done.<em>

_He had kissed Sasuke, but it had been…he didn't…wasn't sure he could explain what had happened. He had intended it to be a quick good-bye, four lips shaking hands, but somehow, somewhere the message had changed. _

_The kiss had started as nothing more than a brush of lips, a soft constant contact, but it had become so much more by the time they parted. The blond had felt something, a shipment he had accepted delivery for. But didn't know what that shipment held. He couldn't identify the foreign roiling churn in his chest as he watched the tail lights disappear in the throng of morning traffic._

_But through the alien tumult, one emotion remained constant._

_He was sad._

**.XX.**

The answer seemed so simple, too simple to be true. Why did this man matter to him? But a better question: when had he fallen in love with Uchiha Sasuke? And why did it have to be now that he was going to die?

The finger pulled, squeezing off the shot and Naruto watched the bullet emerge, shrouded at first with a cloud of flame. But as the fire died, the projectile refused to fade away, but continued its ponderous journey towards the center of Naruto's forehead.

He was going to die.

Iruka was going to be mad. He was letting everybody down. Even though he got one, would it be enough to tip the scales and let Kakashi win?

But even in his final seconds, Naruto could feel guilty for checking out a little early. He had let them down, he had let down Sasuke…no!

Time shifted in the other direction, going into fast forward. The bullet slammed home, embedding itself deep into concrete. Blood splattered, bone fragments showered onto a thick black coat, the stains hidden except on the red clouds where the dye was renewed with Kakazu's own juices.

Naruto was up, tossing the second body from him and crouching low, eyes roving for his next target.

But he was alone.

The Akatsuki were gone.

The blond felt the adrenaline hit. The force of it literally shook his system. His legs quivered and he knelt in the leaking remains of the two Akatsuki he had torn apart and the one still writhing and screaming in pain.

Kakashi was there, speaking to him, patting his shoulder. But his words were nothing but incoherent murmuring. His voice faded in and out as reality began to sink in.

It was over. He had beaten the Akatsuki. He had survived. He had…fallen in love.

Sasuke…

And in light of that final revelation, their victory here meant far less to him than it should have.

He had fallen in love.

With Uchiha Sasuke…

**.XX.**

Kakashi was shaking Kyuubi, trying to get the man to respond. He was furious that the blond had disobeyed his orders. But Asuma had just confirmed that Shikamaru was alright and the Akatsuki were gone…he supposed he couldn't be too hard on the young man. He wasn't police trained anyway.

"Hey, idiot, you actually managed not to get killed. Congratulation, you did it. That Akatsuki leader would be a bigger fool than you to ever come back to Konoha."

They had taken the third gang member into medical custody, pending incarceration and trial. Konoha would have its justice.

But in an instant, the leather of Kyuubi's jacket had disappeared from under his fingertips. The superhero had gone, maybe for good. The detective sincerely hoped that Konoha would never need such justice ever again.

"Come on everybody." He said to those who still remained. "I want your reports on my desk tomorrow morning in triplicate. In the mean time, let's get this mess cleaned up."

**.:xXXx:.**

In the cool dimness of his apartment he sat. The bed underneath him creaked once when he shifted his weight and was silent.

Naruto had long since shed his leathers. He wore a pair of dingy sweats and his skin. His sad blue eyes traced the straight lines of his phone, its black screen. He was waiting for something, what exactly he didn't even know for certain. The raven had eluded all his searching, it was absurd to think that now, at last he would come to him on his own.

But when the short, sharp taps on his door cut through the silence, Naruto's heart sped up. It was absurd. It was purely fictional to think that Sasuke would be the one standing at the door, only hours after the blond had realized that he was in love with this man. He still could hardly believe it himself. He never would have imagined this for himself, this fate, this destiny was so foreign. But it felt so undeniably right he could no longer question his budding emotions.

_How would he tell Sasuke?_

His footsteps faltered and the tapping echoed for a second time.

His hand stretched out, his fingers grasped and wrapped around the knob.

The handle turned and Naruto pulled.

Sasuke stood, framed in his doorway, waiting.

The raven reached out an arm, his beautiful, pale fingers threading through Naruto's sunshine locks.

"You're safe."

That was all he said. That was all he had to say.

Naruto pulled the raven inside, wrapped himself around that wonderfully strong man and let the world go.

He felt Sasuke's arms tighten around him, the fingers in his hair stroking and smoothing tenderly. He felt…so much…love…

"Here…"

Sasuke's voice sounded strange, like he was trying to keep something back, but when Naruto looked up at the raven-haired man, his features revealed nothing.

"I brought you something."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: and I'm still not pleased with this chapter at all, but I spit something out because I didn't think I would be able to get past it otherwise. I promised that I would finish my stories and I will. So there.**

**Review! Please! Tell me if this chapter absolutely failed and I need to go back and add something, or take something out, or...something...**

**Anyway, until next time.**


	20. Chapter20: Make Love Not War

**Thank you so much for all the reviews! You guys are wonderful. Thank you for being so patient. I officially am in hate with finals. But I figured that you guys deserved an update for being so wonderful.**

**So, here it is, the chapter that everyone has been waiting for.**

**Without Further Adu...adoo...adeiu...? Okay, here it is!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter_20: Make Love Not War<strong>

"I have something for you."

"Yeah," Naruto nodded, pulling the man farther inside his small apartment. "Okay,"

This was all so unreal, so much like a dream that he could hardly believe this was happening. He had defeated the Akatsuki, saved the city, kept his friends safe…fallen in love with a man. Somewhere along the long road to this place, his 'normal' world had been turned inside out and shaken, but Naruto didn't care. Right now, all that mattered was the man in his arms, this feeling of complete contentment and the undeniable urge to do something completely spontaneously crazy.

Before he could act on the impulse, Sasuke was already walking towards his living room. The raven seated himself on the second-hand sofa, his thighs sinking neatly into the old springs and for a moment it struck Naruto how 'at-ease' Sasuke looked sitting on that ancient piece of furniture.

He shook the thought off when the Uchiha pulled out a laptop and a CD case from a bag Naruto had been too preoccupied to notice. He was concentrating more on the fact that Sasuke was actually standing at his front door then what the man was carrying on him at the time.

"Come here,"

The Uchiha's voice beckoned.

Naruto sat. He was a little irked about being ordered to obey, but the warm glow he carried over from the hug placated his pride.

"What?" He watched Sasuke insert the DVD into the disc drive. A date and place was printed in neat letters across its pearly white surface.

_October 10__th__ Konoha Community Hospital._

Naruto felt his heart lurch to a stop in his chest. He hated that his voice was barely a whisper, but all the air in his lungs was gone. As soon as he had seen that date, that location, he was breathing in a vacuum. "Sasuke…is this…?"

The video started before Sasuke could answer and far before Naruto was ready.

It was surveillance footage; old surveillance footage.

The room it showed was peaceful and still. A single bed and a night-side stand were all the furniture it carried. In the bed a woman slept, her flaming red hair spread out like a web on the white sheets and pillow.

Naruto felt a lump forming in his throat. That blurry image on the computer screen was his mother.

A lusty cry broke the still picture and Kushina woke. Her sweet musical laughter broke over Naruto like a wave, the beauty, the comfort, the love that that sound still warmed him was staggering. This was his mother, even long dead, this was his mother.

'Oh, my sweet, are you awake?' Kushina crooned to the baby who had slept by her side and was now cradled in her arms. The bright yellow hair was as sharp and clear even on the old recording. The infant let out another hearty cry.

His mother kissed Naruto's forehead and spoke lovingly to her child. 'Oh what a big strong voice you have. You'll grow up to be a wonderful speaker, just like your father.'

His father… His real father…

Apparently baby Naruto was not as impressed with this particular prediction because he wailed a third time. This didn't seem to distress his mother. She smiled and tucked her son closer. 'Someone's hungry again. You're going to grow up so big.' Kushina began to nurse the baby, still speaking softly to him while he filled his tummy.

Naruto leaned in closer to the screen, wanting to see as much as he could of the woman who had given him life. She hummed quietly, trying to untangle the strands of her long hair which had matted down while she slept.

Gentle fingers smoothed her child's pudgy cheek, caressing the unblemished skin. 'I love you, my little Naruto, my sweet Naruto.'

Naruto touched his own cheek, felt the glazed skin of his scars underneath. He hadn't been born with those scars? He'd always assumed… But now he had to wonder, where had the marks come from?

The serenity of mother and child was suddenly shattered. The door burst open and three men barreled inside.

Before she could scream, Naruto was yanked from Kushina's arms. His mother launched herself at the man who had taken her son.

She never made it. A second man yanked her back onto the hospital bed.

Still she struggled, the woman who had given birth only hours before. She bit and kicked, screaming and crying out for help.

Until they slit her throat.

Red splashed against the crisp white bed sheets.

Naruto felt his stomach lurch when Kushina, one hand clutching the broken flesh of her throat, reached out to her wailing son. Her lips moved, forming the child's name.

It was the last thing she ever did.

The blond watched in horror as his mother's body flopped onto the bed, her fingers congealing to her neck by the slowly drying fluids.

The fingers on his shoulder jerked his attention away from the screen. He glanced at Sasuke. The man was staring at him, his expression (as ever) unreadable.

"Pay attention to what is coming."

Naruto wanted to slap the raven's hand away. But a small part of him, the part he was getting used to indulging, found some comfort in that hand.

Voices pulled Naruto back to the video. The men were talking in low hoarse whispers. Apparently they had no idea that a camera was in the room.

'How long do we have?'

A second shrugged. 'Danzo'll make sure we have plenty of time.'

Blue eyes went wide with horror and the flickering of pure rage. The pressure on his shoulder tightened and Naruto forced his attention back to the video.

'Let's get this over with. Show me the kid.'

The gang member who had snatched Naruto from his mother stretched his arms out, trying not to drop the screaming baby.

The first man produced a knife, a short cruel looking weapon with odd stylistic markings on the blade. Naruto felt a twinge of recognition and a split second later realized where he had seen those symbols before.

They were the same as the markings on his tattoo.

The one holding the knife suddenly stretched out his hand, gripping Naruto's fleshy jowls. The baby did not recognize the hand, did not like the rough treatment and his howling grew in pitch and volume.

The man who had a hold of his face took no notice but smiled.

The knife flicked out again and again. Each time another blotch of red blossomed on the child's perfect cheeks until six whisker-esk slashes marred his face.

The tiny child was then laid, still pitching and crying in his mother's limp arms. The three figures filed out, satisfied that their purpose was accomplished.

The screen went dark.

Naruto's head was whirling. This was what had happened that night. This was as much of an answer he was ever going to get about the night of his birth; the night his parents died.

Danzo had been responsible, at least partially so, for Kyuubi being allowed to sneak into the hospital. His mother had loved him. That was how he had gotten his scars.

"Naruto,"

He hadn't realized he'd stood until he turned and saw the raven his risen from the couch as well. Sasuke's fingers were back on his shoulder.

The blond cleared his throat. His cerulean blues studied the floor. His voice was unmistakably strained the stolid silence. "I…had no idea…about that night." He paused. That wasn't entirely true. He had been told that his parents were killed. They'd said who had done it. And he'd always just assumed that his scars had something to do with it. But to watch as his mother was murdered right before his eyes and his own face was mutilated was…indescribable.

Sasuke said nothing, made no move to come closer, but his fingers remained on Naruto's shoulder, solid, warm.

"Where did you find that?"

"I have connections." Neither spoke for long moments after that. Sasuke owned the hot-spot in Konoha, of course he had connections.

The blond turned, wrapping his arms around Sasuke once again.

The raven allowed the embrace, returning it only with the slightest press of fingers on Naruto's shoulder-blade. It was good enough.

"I got you the worst birthday present possible." The raven breathed hotly against the whorls of Naruto's ear. Warmth that had less to do with Sasuke's breathing in his ear and everything to do with the fact that the same man had remembered his birthday was today filled him up nearly to bursting.

"Well I've got something for you too…" He smiled. "…And mine can't wait any more."

A small part of him wondered if it was right to be doing this minutes after he had witnessed his mothers demise. But he knew that even if he had known Uzumaki Kushina his whole life, she wouldn't have wanted him to morn her. She would have celebrated that he had found this someone to love, even in light of her death. But since he had not known her, it was not so awful that he would put off the thing he had craved since their first kiss.

He would visit them later, he promised. He would visit their graves tomorrow. He might even bring Sasuke if things went well. But he would think about them later. What mattered right now…was this man in his arms.

He urged the raven's head down and closer while his feet led them both backward, farther inside. He wasn't entirely sure if he was doing this whole seduction thing right, but he had come to rely on his instincts to help him survive, why not let them lead here too?

"Naruto," The Uchiha's own smooth baritone ghosted hotly against his slightly parted lips. It was a murmur equal parts desire, acknowledgment, and satisfaction. Naruto grinned. He pecked at Sasuke's mouth, each time a lingering a little longer until he and the raven were melded lovingly together. It was hot silk, just like their last kiss, all tenderness and sweet caressing that pulled him farther into this man's spell.

He could hear the question in Sasuke's kiss, 'Are you sure? Are you alright?' And Naruto answered back with a playful nip as his hands smoothed the Uchiha's lean back. He was more than ready.

The blond eased the other man's jacket from his shoulders. The discarded clothing was forgotten as soon as it hit the floor. Naruto focus immediately shifted to the next article of clothing which hid Sasuke's incredible body from view. The voice in the back of his mind rumbled approval as he began to tease the Uchiha's shirt up his sleek torso, brushing the taut stomach with the backs of his knuckles. _Good…good…_

Naruto couldn't help the small chuckle that bubbled past his lips.

"Hm?" The raven hummed as his own pale hands sought to divest the other man of his restrictive garments.

"It's just weird to think," The blond stumbled a little, leaning more into Sasuke until he recovered enough to keep tugging them along. Walking backwards while you were trying to get someone naked wasn't as easy as he thought. He decided to focus on getting them both there safely in lue of stripping his raven. Instead he entwined his arms once more around Sasuke's neck and pulled them the last few steps into his bedroom. "That until one week ago, I really never thought about men like this and now…" They ambled through his bedroom, Naruto gently, but insistently guiding them further until he felt the edges of a mattress poke his calves and let himself fall. He stared up at the raven-haired man standing above him. He couldn't help but smile, his eyes tracing every inch of his sexy bastard.

"…Well now I can't believe that I'm going to bed with the second most beautiful man in this room."

The raven's slender mouth curved into an amused smirk both at Naruto's back-handed compliment and his equally back-handed humor. He pulled his shirt over and off, folding the cloth neatly before placing it on the floor.

Naruto propped himself up on elbows and stared incredulously at the neatly folded garment lying next to his stockpile of crumpled clothing. His eyes flicked back to the Uchiha and he couldn't help but chuckle again. "You fold your cloths before sex?"

"Yes,"

Sasuke leaned over and began a slow sensuous crawl up the bed to Naruto. The blond felt his vision narrowing until all he could see was a pair of dark eyes coming ponderously closer. The raven's eyes were glowing with sensuous hunger, just like they had the last time the two men had been alone in this very room. They made promises in dulcet tones of pleasures beyond comprehension even as Sasuke's silken voice purred hotly over Naruto.

"I won't fold yours if it makes you uncomfortable."

The blond grinned and then gasped. Ten cold fingers had found their way underneath his shirt to the sensitive skin of his belly. They rubbed, teased and massaged up his abdomen, lingering over a few hard ridges of muscle along the way until they reached a tan pectoral. Two fingers closed over the Naruto's pert nipple and gently tugged.

The Uzumaki remembered this from before, but he couldn't help his body from jerking in surprise. Or the single inarticulate cry that exited his lips. He was torn between humiliation and bliss when he heard the Uchiha's rough chuckle in response and pale fingers began to work his nipple in earnest. He'd never thought about his Pecs as being a particularly sexual part of his body. It wasn't until Sasuke had first shown him exactly how pleasurable touching even these unlikely places could be. Now he wondered how he could have missed that important bit of information about his own body.

"Naruto,"

Those beautiful pale fingers had stopped. The blond growled.

"If you don't get me naked in the next ten seconds, I'm kicking you out." There it was, his self-defense mechanism: anger. Even in this supposedly beautiful moment he couldn't help but fall back on old fail-safes. Naruto swallowed. Self-consciousness was going to be a part of this particular 'first time'. But when he tried to glare up at Sasuke, and their gazes locked, he knew that Sasuke knew exactly what he was thinking. But he knew the raven wouldn't spoil the moment by telling him to knock it off.

The Uchiha poised above him smirked. "Hn,"

He'd just try and spoil it with his stupid not-a-word-word.

Before Naruto could open his mouth and say something that would have definitely ruined the mood, the raven had straightened to kneel above his prone body.

Naruto felt his breath catch and then he was being covered; the full weight of Uchiha Sasuke sinking him into the mattress. Sasuke's chin lay in the curve of his shoulder, the man's soft lips pressed against his ear. Naruto shivered, but all traces of cold had left him the instant the raven had touched their torso's together. Sasuke's heat sank into him, just like the man's weight. But oddly enough, the sensation of being shrouded so completely by another masculine body wasn't intimidating or humiliating as Naruto had feared. It was strangely pleasant to know that this man was stronger, but wasn't using his power to force the blonds' submission. He was still a little bit nervous, but like this…with Sasuke's lithe body pressed so close…he felt like he could stay this way forever.

On impulse, Naruto eased his hands up, sliding over the sleek musculature of moonlit arms. His fingers followed the curve past the shoulder to wrap uneasily around Sasuke's slender back.

"Thank you,"

He hadn't even realized that he spoke until the Uchiha was pulling away. For a second he feared that the raven was leaving, but when his wide eyes took in Sasuke's slight smirk he knew that the man wasn't going anywhere.

"Usuratonkachi, I haven't done anything yet."

"Yeah," The blond agreed; wrapping his arms around the pale man's neck and tugging him back down. "Let's fix that." He murmured before their mouths met and merged together.

Sasuke's tongue reached out, sliding feather-light across the blonds' bottom lip, soothing the other man's slowly fidgeting nerves. And it worked. The whole churning knot of butterflies in Naruto's stomach eased almost instantly into a small swarm. The pleasant warmth of it soothed his blood, heating the skin wherever the raven touched him.

This was it, Naruto thought when Sasuke's hand traced back up between them to toy with his already abused nipple. This was the passion he had been looking for. This was that love he hadn't been able to find in Iruka or Shikamaru or any of his other friends. This was it.

That knowledge sent a shock of warmth along his skin, or maybe that was because the raven had started to kiss his way down Naruto's jaw.

Either way it didn't matter, the blond moaned and turned his head to give Sasuke's wandering mouth more room to work. The sweep of soft lips pressing against the untried nerves of his neck had Naruto arching into Sasuke's body. Their hips met, the hard flesh, the product of arousal. It was so different, being held under and made to feel this pleasure instead of doing the holding and the pleasing.

And then those sinful lips found the curve, just between neck and shoulder as Sasuke's fingers tweaked a nipple and the pulsating thrust of hips merged together.

The blond gasped and arched up again, forcing his fully erect member up into the raven's in a new staccato. The heat burning low in his belly had grown, enlarged and was threatening to overwhelm him already. Naruto fought down the urgent cries of his body. He wouldn't humiliate himself by coming already. He knew that much about sex.

But it seemed that Sasuke had other plans.

The man's mouth traveled down, easing ever so slowly to the collarbone. Pale pink tongue mapped Naruto's sternum, eliciting fresh pants and moans from his blond beauty with every sweep.

The lightest brush of fingertips ran along the edge of Naruto's sweatpants, tickling sensitive skin. The blond squirmed but didn't protest when his pants were drawn down and off. Then his last barrier was gone. Now he lay sprawled out on the bed, his naked body open for Sasuke to observe.

Sasuke's hand brushed over the blonds' hip and Naruto trembled with anticipation or trepidation he wasn't prepared to say. He closed his eyes, turning his face into the pillow when those beautiful fingers began to carefully message the bones.

"Don't turn away." Sasuke breathed against the sensitive curve of his neck, nipping the nerves to get Naruto's attention.

Naruto turned back and caught the raven's mouth in a hesitant kiss. Sasuke seemed to approve. The blond heard what sounded suspiciously like an 'hn' against his tongue before he was thoroughly distracted by fingers wrapping completely around his manhood.

Naruto gasped, tasting the raven's sweet exhale. The warm mint mingled with a heady rush of pleasure as Sasuke began a rhythmic pull.

He didn't even notice this mind leaving and he certainly didn't miss it. The only thing he was aware of was the sharp descent into utter bliss. Unconsciously the blonds' hips thrust into that strong grip, tossing his head from side to side while murmuring incoherence. He couldn't have stopped himself if he tried.

From somewhere off in the haze above him Sasuke spoke. "Easy," The tempo of the raven's fingers slowed and Naruto growled, his instincts searching for the release his body craved. "Don't push. Just let this happen, Naruto."

"I need to cum," He would have winced that the breathlessness of his own voice had he cared. But at the moment, the only concern he had was his own body's denied release. His hand reached around to grasp Sasuke's and he began a punishing rhythm with their joint hands, his hips gyrating in swift counterpoint. "I'm so close, so close. Please Sasuke, make me cum."

The raven's thumb pressed into the vein feeding Naruto's cock at the same time he bit the blonds' erogenous nape.

"Then cum,"

The breath was stolen from Naruto's lungs. His world went pure white, blissfully quiet and drowning in sensuality. His fingers reached blindly out and found Sasuke's face in the midst of his skyward ascent. He wrapped his arms around the man's shoulders and pulled him close, fusing their mouths with the pleasant warmth of afterglow settling in his veins.

They lay still and silent; for how long neither was completely sure. But it wasn't until Naruto had finally caught his breath that he realized just how tightly he was holding the raven to his chest and that the raven hadn't orgasmed.

"Sorry," He murmured, fighting down a blush as he let the man go. "Here, I'll take care of you."

But when he reached down to the front of the Uchiha's pants and the man's straining arousal, Sasuke caught them. He pinioned the tan wrists in one hand, pushing them to rest above Naruto's head.

The two men just stared at each other for long moments and Naruto understood. This wasn't over.

Sasuke's pale fingers disappeared from his wrists. But Naruto wasn't left wondering for long. The blond let out a long pleased moan when those delicious fingers started messaging their way down his body for the second time that day.

Fingertips lingered for half-a-second on nipples, tickling tips just long enough to get them standing at attention. And then the raven's hands were working their way still further down to his reawakening cock. The rough satin of fingers pressed into clenching stomach muscles. Delicately, they traced the long spiraling circle of his tattoo, inwards until they reached the center and Sasuke's tongue filled the small divot.

Naruto groaned in protest when the wonderfully torturous tongue was removed. It turned into a breathless keen half-way through; when Sasuke's tongue found a new playground farther down.

"Sa…ah…stop…" Naruto pushed at the raven's forehead. The sensation was so much, too much. He was getting hard again and he hadn't satisfied Sasuke yet. It was unfair.

But his hands were captured and tangled thoroughly in the raven's hair. Naruto hummed an inquiry just as his member was encased in wet warmth. He tossed his head, the pleasure surrounding and caressing every inch of exposed skin.

Hands pressed his hips into the mattress and Naruto realized he had been humping Sasuke's face. Heat coursed over his cheeks, flushing down his neck and chest. But the embarrassment didn't last long. Sasuke wanted his blood in other portions of his anatomy.

He gave Naruto's cock a long hard suck, drawing out the blonds' enthralled cry like thread from a spool. And then Naruto was in heaven.

Sasuke's tongue toyed and teased, playing at the throbbing vein feeding Naruto's very awake cock. He tortured the blond by alternately sucking and humming while his hair bobbed up and down.

Naruto was no longer trying to stay quiet. Loudly and lustily he shared his pleasure with anyone who would listen.

And then the delicious mouth was gone. Naruto hissed when his wet cock met cool air. He grasped for the suddenly elusive head of silken strands, but his fingers met only air.

And then the scent of Uchiha Sasuke was filling his nose. The warmth of the man's body poised over him. Blue eyes opened and met ebony filled with a passion that stole the breath from his lungs. This was all so surreal.

The words were whispered along the skin of his neck. "I'm going to be inside of you."

Naruto pushed aside the urge to tremble and protest. He was a man. He wasn't going to whine and wince and complain. This was…his choice. This was Sasuke.

He heard a sharp 'pop' and then the creamy smearing sound of wetness against fingers. Naruto was about to ask Sasuke what he was doing, but the sensation of cool slippery fingers against his puckered entrance gave him an answer.

The digits slowly circled, drawing out the moment, the anxiety and anticipation. And then slowly, oh so slowly, the breach, stretch, push. Naruto wasn't sure how he should respond to this careful penetration, half-way between pulling away and waiting to see what came next.

It didn't exactly hurt. It wasn't the greatest feeling in the world, since where Sasuke was touching wasn't, technically speaking, an 'in' hole.

The finger paused for a moment. Sasuke seemed to sense that Naruto needed a breather. But he started twisting the digit around, rubbing Naruto's walls, coating them with the lubricant on his finger. It was still a little cold. The blond shivered and his body involuntarily clenched down on the duel invasion of cold and finger.

"Don't," Sasuke continued to coat Naruto's inner walls. "Relax,"

Naruto was about to ask if he wasn't supposed to relax or if it was the reflexive tightening of his muscles which Sasuke had forbidden when suddenly his body was on fire. This was not the sweet smoldering flame that lingered when Sasuke caressed his skin or teased his nipples. It was ten times hotter than the searing blaze that wrapped around him when that beautiful tongue had explored every millimeter of his cock. It was…

"What was that?" Naruto gasped out. Sasuke only smirked and this time the blond felt the finger brush against his walls as the wave of wondrous bliss crashed over and through him.

Sasuke didn't give him time to recover before he was rubbing that 'whatever' inside Naruto that had the blond writhing and begging for more. On and on the incredible heat gushed. Higher and higher he climbed the steep slope to climax. Energizing, enthralling, exhausting. He didn't want this to end, he never wanted this feeling to go away. If he could have, in that moment, Naruto would have stayed in that bed for the rest of eternity. This was air. This was breath. This was heaven.

He was close. So very close. He could see the pinnacle, could feel his body rising to grasp hold. Reaching, straining, clutching…so close.

The fingers stopped.

Fingers…

Then the ache in his backside registered and Naruto's corresponding hiss was not one of pleasure.

"Naruto," Once again, Sasuke whispered to the hollow of his throat. The raven's tongue slipped out and touched the cavity.

He had slipped the second digit inside while Naruto was distracted. Inserting a third, however, was going to prove more of a challenge. It was odd. While he knew himself to be a man of infinitesimal patience, he was fighting the urge to bury himself deep and tight and hard into Naruto's untried flesh. The idea of it was compelling. Even though he knew that it would only be a short amount of time before it became reality, the thought still tugged at him. He had never, but once wanted someone with such vehemence, but he wanted to see Itachi dead, Naruto…

The raven focused back on the beautiful tanned body spread out before him. He could analyze this later.

"I will continue to stretch you. When you say wait, I will." He began to ease his fingers slowly in and out of Naruto. The blonds' forehead wrinkled, but he didn't make a sound. Steadily the raven worked, slowly gaining speed. When he knew Naruto would not reject the action completely, Sasuke scissored the two digits.

In a sudden flurry of movement Naruto's arms wrapped themselves around the ravens' neck and his grunt of pain was lost inside Sasuke's mouth.

If Sasuke had been a different lover, he would have murmured encouragement to the blond. He would have whispered endearments and love words while he prepared Naruto to receive him, perhaps to lessen the pain. But he was not another man. He was Uchiha Sasuke.

His fingers spoke for him. While the first hand continued its slow rhythmic stretching, the digits of his left had wrapped around Naruto's shaft and began stroking in a sharp counterpoint.

The blond began to shift. His muscles began to spasm. The sensation of pain mixed with the pleasant attention Sasuke was giving his cock. He wasn't sure which to pay attention to, didn't know which he ought to be feeling. They were so sharp, so different, like two sides of a coin, light and dark, black and white. It was a sensation Naruto had never experience before in his life. It was a combination he was slowly becoming addicted to.

His hands weren't still either. As Sasuke continued to prepare him, his own fingers were restlessly exploring every inch of the Uchiha's body as he could reach. Suede skin covered sinew and subtly corded muscle. The power and flex under his hands made him dizzy with desire. What lay just under the surface, this incredible strength no one would understand unless they touched Sasuke, was his to know.

A shock of ecstasy boiled across Naruto and he shuddered from the sheer might of it. It was then he realized that the pain had bled away, leaving only a thick sensual burning in its wake.

A third finger had been added. The full thickness weighed on Naruto's insides like lead. He felt so crammed, to the brim. But didn't hurt anymore. Instead all he could feel was the urge to press Sasuke's fingers deeper. He wanted more, needed more.

"Sasuke, please," He begged, didn't know what he was begging for, but he couldn't stop the stream of words, pants, moans from tumbling out.

The fingers left, but something else much larger was at his entrance now. Naruto swallowed hard when he realized just what that larger thing was. His head turned, his eyes screwed shut as he braced himself.

But fingers were pulling his face back, and a calm voice was speaking, urging him into action. "Naruto, look at me."

Naruto forced his eyelids to lift one centimeter at a time. They were so heavy, but when obsidian met cerulean, everything else in the world disappeared.

Every time he looked into Sasuke's eyes, the sensation was the same. He was drowning in black. But this time, the sensation of being swallowed whole by this man was not daunting. It was enticing; so different from the first time he had been entranced by these eyes.

"Don't look away."

Then Sasuke was pushing forward, the nudging becoming a steady pressure. And slowly, ever so slowly, Naruto felt himself being impaled on the raven's rigid flesh.

It hurt. It was worse than the fingers had been. Naruto felt the slickness that meant lubricant, but that couldn't stop the oddness of the stretch from tipping over into pain. He didn't cry out, didn't say a word, he wouldn't scream like a girl. But just when the pressure had reached unbearable it stopped. Naruto blinked, trying to clear his eyes. He wasn't crying; he just had something in his eye.

Sasuke was still watching him, his assessing gaze locked on his face. Naruto felt himself getting hot and not in the way he would have expected. Sasuke was staring into his eyes, his cock buried inside of the blonds' tight heat and instead of feeling weird or self-conscious, Naruto felt…sexy.

He was the only thing that Sasuke was looking at, the only thing that mattered to him in the world. There was only them, this bed and the dwindling pain.

"I'm going to continue."

Naruto could only nod and wait for the press to begin. It did, but it wasn't as bad as the first time. Actually, it wasn't awful at all anymore. He could feel every inch of Sasuke sliding into him. And then that spot inside of him was touched and Naruto gasped.

Sasuke stopped once more, but only when he was trapped completely in his lovers' incredible body. He waited for the signal; when the pain was gone. He did not have to wait long.

"Are we just going to lay here like this for the rest of the day?" The blond huffed.

The raven's answer was a sharp drawing back and thrusting of his hips.

The motion and corresponding jolt of pleasure caught Naruto by surprise. He shouted and tossed his head back, his fingers scrabbling for purchase against the raven's sleek hide.

"Look at me," Naruto did and was immediately lost in a world of pure sensation. As Sasuke began to thrust, a measured beat that touched against that place ever y time, their gazes locked.

Every molecule in his body was on fire, a storm was ripping away every rational thought, stripping him down to raw awareness. He felt the smooth glide of Sasuke's cock, drawing out, eliciting moans, plunging in, making him cry out.

Naruto's fingers pressed into the raven's taut back. It was a foundation, a solid place to hold. He brought his legs up, wrapping them around the Uchiha's pistoning hips. The raven breathed out and twisted, doubling his pace. It was so much, the glorious penetration now that pain was gone; the hot burning lust was too much. Naruto felt like he was coming apart at the seams every time Sasuke's hard thrusts pounded into him.

The Uchiha's gaze had turned stormy. The passion, the full effect of that dark thunderhead threatened to overwhelm Naruto, just like the energy building between them. He was swimming in a black sea in the midst of a hurricane and he could do nothing but hold on to the source of this danger, this ravenous power. He was being swept up, swept over, pulled under and could only cry out to the heavens in avaricious intoxication.

He had no idea what the raven could see in his eyes, but at the moment, all he cared about was the heady rush of climax, so near, so close.

He ground his heels into the small of Sasuke's back and pushed his hips up, screaming out the raven's name with each ferocious hit to his spot. He was seeing stars, the pinpricks glistening in Sasuke's eyes.

Something spilled inside of him, warm, thick and wonderful.

And then he was rushing up to meet them when his climax hit. It tossed him high, dragged him down and drowned him in electricity. It crashed over him again and again, shrouding his mind in thick rosy fog, his body thrashing and arching into Sasuke.

Somewhere in the hazy distance of reality he heard the words.

"Sasuke, ah! I-I love you! I love you so much!"

The fog around him began to fade. Swirling mist of pleasure still touched his body. The waves still lapped tenderly upon his skin, but sweeter, the after.

They were both breathing hard, though Sasuke looked largely unaffected by the lovemaking. Bastard.

Naruto smiled and urged the raven's head down. He kissed the soft lips, the taste of sweat mingling with mint and it was even more addicting.

From the floor came a low buzz. It stopped, took a breath and buzzed again.

"Your phone is ringing."

"Yeah,"

The device on the floor continued to snarl angrily, but the Uchiha didn't move from their tangle of arms and legs.

The blond shifted, reaching for the phone. Pale fingers wrapped tan wrist, pulling it back.

"Leave it,"

"But,"

"Leave it,"

Sasuke rolled, moving the blond to the other side where they could no longer reach the device.

"Sleep,"

N growled drowsily against the man's smooth chest. "You're bossy, you know that?" He had dropped off a minute later however, his arms wrapped lovingly around the raven's body; a content smile spread over his mouth.

Sasuke watched his lover sleep for a time, black eyes moving over features relaxed in unconscious. A hand reached up, the pad of one finger tracing the scars on Naruto's cheek. It struck him that he was never so tender with a lover. The urge to stay after he had taken his satisfaction had never manifested itself until today.

The raven pondered his motivations while Naruto's hot breath played rhythmically across his collarbone. He found that he could not reasonably quantify this necessity. He desired it and there was no reason why he should not. Therefore, he would.

But his intellect was not satisfied with that reasoning. It urged him to explore the why which facilitated the desire. That he could find no logical explanation for his want was unsettling.

He eased away from Naruto's tight embrace. It seemed that the blond was a something of a heavy sleeper, because after only a slight frown and restless shift, Naruto settled back to his dreaming.

Sasuke reached down. He pulled his phone from the pocket of his carefully folded pants.

The voicemail screen popped up the instant his thumb touched the screen. Karin had left him a message.

Sasuke stared down at the device nestled in his palm for long minutes.

Finally he stood. He pulled on his pants and stepped into the living room. The door was closed silently behind him. He saw no reason why Naruto's rest should be interrupted.

He keyed in his password and waited.

"Sasuke," Karin was excited, nearly ecstatic. Sasuke's eyebrow eased upwards. "I remembered it! I remember the smell!"

**.XX.**

Sasuke was gone.

Naruto had been having the most incredible dream. He had woken up and he and Sasuke had talked. The raven had touched him, massaged the tension from every inch of Naruto's body while he whispered three words over and over again.

But when Naruto's eyes opened, the raven was not in bed.

The blond rolled out of bed. Sasuke's pile of neatly folded clothing was nowhere to be found. He frowned and pulled his sweatpants on before meandering out into the living room.

He saw the sleek line of Sasuke's back and smiled.

"Hey," He walked up and suddenly didn't know what to do. He wasn't sure if his impulse to embrace Sasuke would be accepted. They had slept together, but still…this was all new territory for the blond. "You left."

Sasuke turned. Naruto's eyes went wide at the coldness, the calculation which had replaced the warmth, the passion, the…love?

The raven watched Naruto for a moment before he spoke, his voice as callus as his eyes.

"Run now or I will kill you."

"Sasuke, what are you talking about?" Naruto reached out only to have his hand brushed aside. And he was suddenly staring down the barrel of a gun.

"Kyuubi,"

His blood ran cold. The one word he had never expected to hear from Sasuke's mouth, his secret. But somehow the raven knew, was pointing a gun at his head. His mind spun, trying to understand everything that was happening.

"Sasuke," He tried not to look at the gun. "I…I don't know what you're talking about. What's a Kyuubi? I've never heard of that befor-"

"It was symbolic irony wasn't it?" The muzzle didn't waver. "You took the name of the gang which killed your parents. It makes sense. That irony wouldn't have escaped you." Sasuke's cold hard eyes were boring mercilessly into Naruto's, and he continued to speak, pulling apart the blonds' protests of innocence. Fact after fact, the evidence piled up. There was nothing Naruto could do to stop the words, nothing to understand the hatred in Sasuke's eyes.

"Sasuke, this is me. Why does it matter that I'm Kyuubi. I'm still Naruto, that's all that matters."

"Fool," The raven said. "It matters because you and I are mortal enemies."

"What?" The blond shook his head. He didn't understand…

The cold metal pressed lightly into the flesh of his forehead. "I am Boss Hebi."

No, no, no, no, this was wrong. This was all wrong. This had to be a dream, a nightmare. He stared in horror at the man who had just made love to him, at the man he loved, at the man who was holding a gun to his head.

He stood, frozen as the realization of all that had transpired sunk in. He was an idiot. He had never paid attention to Boss Hebi's scent. At the time he'd figured that he could do it later. It never registered, the voice, the scent, the figure. He had divided his world into two very separate, very distinct realities. They never intersected, never crossed…until Shikamaru…until…Sasuke…

His eyes squeezed shut. He didn't want to hurt the raven. He knew that if he didn't, he was going to die, but…Sasuke…he couldn't hurt Sasuke.

The cold press against his forehead vanished and Sasuke's voice penetrated the black vale.

"Run, because I like the way you beg and cry out my name so passionately."

Humiliation accompanied the raven's cruelly cold words, striking Naruto a sharp blow to the face. He took a step back, forcing himself to look at Sasuke with sick eyes. The raven glared mercilessly back. He was a stranger to him now.

The blond turned and fled, Sasuke's final words ringing in his ears.

"The next time we meet, I will kill you."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note: No, this is not the end. I wish that I could end it on an even number like 20, but fate was not so kind. Anyway, what think you all of my first ever sex scene? I think I botched it pretty good, but let me know how I can get better.<strong>

**Um, I looked things over and there are going to be about 5 or 6 more chapters. We are almost done.**

**REVIEW! please...**

**Until next time!**


	21. Chapter21: The Beginning of the End

**Thank you all for the wonderful reviews. **

**With the singular exeption of one review that ruined a goodly portion of my day. Please, for future referance, a critic review is not you being allowed to ride my butt because I have priorities. I'm sorry that roughly 6,000 words a chapter isn't good enough for some of you and I appologize if my grades are slightly more important to me than keeping a rigid update on my story. But please, if you think that my story is being dragged out, tell me. I appreciate well thought out and substantiated critic reviews.**

**P.S. If you will remember in chapter 20, I explain why is was that Naruto didn't realize Sasuke was Boss Hebi.**

**Sorry that this is such a short chapter. I wanted to get something out quickly to keep you all going until the end of finals. Thank you all for your support.**

**On with the show!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter_21: The Beginning of the End<strong>

"Suigetsu get out of here!"

The blond grinned, but didn't move other than to wrap an arm around Karin's waist. The woman continued to struggle and yell; a task made distinctly more difficult by the large bullet wound in her abdomen.

Suigetsu chuckled. He pulled the bleeding woman to him as carefully as he could.

"I'm not leavin' ya behind. So you can just forget about that."

Karin's fist landed squarely in his solar plexus, but it had no strength behind it.

"Idiot, this place is burning down around us and if you don't leave now we're both going to die."

The concussive blast of a fifty caliber rifle had the pair crouching down lower behind the bar. The redhead punched him again. It did nothing but make Suigetsu laugh.

"This is no time to laugh. We are going to die!" Karin was yelling.

Suigetsu kissed her.

It had the affect he wanted. Karin stopped trying to hit him.

The bond man pulled away, grinned and said. "I'm not dying today and neither are you."

"Fine," Karin levered her handgun over the top of the bar and emptied the clip. Her whisper was lost in the answering gunfire. "You wonderful idiot."

**.:xXXx:.**

'_Hello, this is Fuka, reporting live from the remains of Hokage tower. It has been several hours since the building which housed our elected head of state was bombed. We are still awaiting the confirmation of our Hokage's death._

'_Emergency responders were slow to the scene. What remains of Police and SWAT teams arrived within the last hour. Though early reports held some hope, we understand now that there were no survivors. We grieve with the friends and families who have lost loved ones to this tragedy. _

'_In related news: no one has, as of yet, come forward to take credit for the bombing. Fingers are being pointed to gangs and the recent rash of violence in the downtown area._

'_Once again, this is Fuka, reporting…hold on…yes? Yes…understood… We have confirmation. The remains of our Hokage's body are being extracted at this very moment. According to the team which discovered him, the blast was actually detonated inside the central office._

'_The man responsible for finding our Hokage's remains: the recently appointed interim KPD Commissioner Hatake Kakashi has just emerged from the building. I'm going to see if I can get a word with him._

'_Mr. Hatake, Mr. Hatake…a word…'_

'_I have something to say ma'am, if you would permit me.'_

'_Oh, um, who…are you?'_

'_I speak with the authority of a benevolent benefactor. It is his wish that the city of Konoha use his organization's resources to rebuild and recover from this violent assault.'_

'_Oh...I see. Your benefactor, does this person have a name?'_

'_He wishes to remain anonymous for the time being. He does not wish his offer to be rejected as false for the timing.'_

'_Well, I can certainly understand that. But, what kind of resources are we talking about? What is it that your anonymous benefactor is offering to the city of Konoha and what strings are attached to them?'_

'_No strings. He sees your need and wishes only to help. He asks that you allow himself and his organization to aid your fair city by restoring it to its' former glory.'_

'_I'm not sure I follow.'_

'_In addition to monetary recompense, which I can assure you is considerable, it is my employers deepest desire to rid Konoha of the filth spawning in its streets.'_

'_So this gentleman wants to…'_

'_Crush the gangs tearing this city apart, once and for all.'_

'_I'm sorry, I didn't ask for your name. Could you speak clearly for the microphone?'_

'_Certainly. My name is Konan.'_

**.XX.**

That had been three months ago. No one could have known what events that single unscheduled interview would set into motion.

Konan was the silver screen's newest and brightest star. Everyone loved her. And with every enthralling word, the shivering masses of Konoha were drawn farther into the web of lies created by Konan's mystical benefactor.

Now they no longer questioned when families went missing. No one cared that the few remaining politicians had died tragic and mysterious deaths.

'It's is happening for the good of Konoha.' That's all Konan would have to say to smooth the situation over. '…for the good of Konoha…'

And soon enough, no one thought to ask about people they didn't know. No one cared about the arrogant political figure that kept no promises and gave only taxes in return for votes.

The benefactor delivered on his promises. They never saw him to thank him. They wanted to thank him.

He had begun to rebuild. With the seemingly endless supply of resources now that their disposal; the people of Konoha had begun to restore their city. It was wonderful, liberating.

They no longer had to live in fear. They were told to be and do all that they could for the city. It was wonderful. The benefactor would take care of them now. They didn't need Hokage's or Mayors' or elections. They would keep the man would had given them a new chance.

They hated what the gangs had done to them; hated the constant state of caution, worry. But no more. They would not sit behind locked doors at night, cowering and whimpering. They were the masters now. They were powerful. Because of the benefactor.

The police had been dismissed. Who needed police when you had a powerful and benevolent man caring for your every need?

The interim Commissioner had raised some protest, but concern over such drastic change was to be expected. Some echoed his unease, but they were not many.

Even when their nameless benefactor began his hunt for corrupt officials only some called for mercy. They had lived under the heel of gangs and mercenaries for as long as they could remember and the men who were dying on their television screens had delivered Konoha into the gangs' hands, for money. Perhaps a bullet in the back of the head was too kind a fate for them.

But it didn't stop with the politicians. Corruption never stopped with one person, first the elected officials then the cops.

**.:xXXx:.**

"Kakashi!"

"Yamato, Asuma, where's Shikamaru?"

Bullets skittered around the three men, tearing away chunks of concrete from the walls around them.

"He said he had to do something." Asuma ducked instinctively as a bullet clipped an outcropping near his head. "He'll be back soon."

"Idiot," Kakashi's voice lashed out. "Do you really think that they're going to let him live? He's the guy they've been hunting before they came after us. I told you not to let him out of your sight."

Running footsteps cut off whatever answer Asuma had.

Konoha's last three living policemen turned, weapons drawn.

Shikamaru sprinted past them, yelling as he went. "Run, come on, we've only got a few seconds."

Asuma, Kakashi and Yamato took the hint and started after the brunette. They had only taken a handful of steps before the explosion rent the air.

"That was yours then?" Kakashi spat gravel but continued to run.

Beside him Shikamaru grinned. "Hopefully that was an Akatsuki too. But at least we've gotten a little bit of a head start."

They sprinted towards safety, a predetermined safe house only the Comissioner of the PD knew about. Kakashi hoped that that head start would be enough.

**.:xXXx:.**

"For the good of the people," Konan would say; it was always: "For the good of the people."

The crowds would cheer and celebrate as another public figure was murdered before their eyes. They would scream for more. They would cry to be free.

Konan would nod and their benafactor would find more. There were always more to find, more to blame, more to destroy.

And Naruto could only watch in despair.

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><p><strong>AN: So, tell me the truth. Is this trying to breath life into a story that should have ended last chapter? Let me know.**

**Also, sorry about that micro rant up on top, I was a little frustrated. I'm glad I got that off of my chest though. And sorry if I offended you reviewer...you know who you are.**

**So anyway...REVIEW...the good kind.**

**Until next time.**


	22. Chapter22: Hope or A Fighting Chance

**Hooray! Finals are over! That means exactly what you all hope it does. I have way more time to focus on this story, which means faster updates. "Schooooooool's gone for the summer..."**

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**Aaaand...Thanks to Rikado, my Beta. You da man!**

**So, here we are...**

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><p><strong>Chapter_22: Hope or A Fighting Chance<strong>

He slipped through the shadows like a fish glides through water, making less sound. The flashing neon lights all around him touched on his ebony leathers with ghostly fingers before he slid past them and into the night.

No one saw him.

It was past midnight. Everyone was far past the point of caring even if they did see him. But no one would. He was a phantom, easing his way through the bright lights and pulsing bass that had become Konoha at night.

Eat, drink and be merry. That's what the benefactor said. The city had been choked with misery and despair. In this place, it was just as dangerous to be successful as it was to be poor. The only constant was struggle. No one was exempt from fates' crushing jaws.

But now was different. They had a leader now; one who kept his promises and didn't want glory. They loved the benefactor, worshiped his chosen face: Konan. Because she was as wonderfully unassuming as their mysterious new chief. At last they had the leadership that they deserved.

They were safe…

…From everything but themselves…

Naruto felt a pang of mixed empathy and anger strike his chest. He slithered past the crowded club, watching a few straggling figures stumble away from the brightly lit building. Those were few and far between. Most of these people would be here until morning came.

Benefactorism was the preferred lifestyle nowadays.

Part of him knew, understood the desperation with which they clung to this newfound hope. But part of him, the part that had grown up in an orphanage, refused to believe that anyone, no matter how desperate they had become, could idolize such blatant evil.

He perched in a shadowed doorway. His eyes roved the crowds, searching in vain for a sign of hope. Six months worth of nights had given him none. It stole away what little remained, leaving only the hollow maw of despair.

They had stopped fighting. They had all stopped asking, 'why'? They loved who they were, what they were. They marveled at every gift their chosen god had given them, turning and worshiping him all the more for his benevolence.

There seemed no end to the benefactor's kindness or his money.

Hokage tower was nearly rebuilt; the Northern side of Konoha slowly being breathed back to life. It would have been miraculous if Naruto hadn't been aware of the price tag attached.

The city was growing. Families had begun to move into Konoha. For the first time in nearly four decades, jobs were plentiful and lucrative. And once they were inside the city limits, they weren't allowed to leave, not that anyone wanted to.

It was all too good to be true.

But this was the new reality.

No one wanted the benefactor to go away. He had heard rumors of terrorist pockets in the early days, but those had quickly died as support for Konoha's anonymous backer grew. Now it seemed that he was the only one left.

He didn't know what to do.

Uzumaki Naruto was only one man. Even as Kyuubi, he was not strong enough to defeat the Akatsuki in open rebellion. But he had run out of options. He wasn't going to lay down and die, that wasn't who he was. But he wasn't going to run away, that wasn't who he was either. So he would stay and fight by himself. And if it was his fate he would die for Konoha. But he'd take as many of those bastards with him as he could.

This was the first stage of his plan. He was going to let the 'Benefactor' know that there were still people in Konoha who weren't taken in by his money and false claims of good-will.

A middle-aged man stumbled past, on his way home or to the nearest trash can. Naruto let him pass. He prepared himself to step into the circle of light.

"Get him!"

The blond crouched. His eyes roved the shadowed street, landing at last on a growing crowd some distance to his right.

They moved with single-minded purpose, not typical of your standard drunken masses. But there was more than that.

Individual movement was jerky, violent, nor was it focused in his direction. He could hear cries of encouragement, satisfaction and aggression.

"That's what you get."

"Filthy pig."

"How much of their money did you take? Was it worth it?"

"Dirty Cop,"

Naruto felt his pulse jack-hammer. They were beating a cop.

He was in the middle of them between one heartbeat and the next. He heard the gasp. But they weren't backing away…not yet.

He bared his teeth and roared, crouching low next to the cop's still form. This time someone did scream, the drunken multitude scrambling to get away from the monster. Tripping and stumbling, the alcohol that purified the terror Kyuubi burned in their mind slowed their escape. But the blond was not here to destroy. They would have all been corpses.

Quickly, he slung the slowly stirring body up and across his shoulder. He didn't have a lot of time before the people recovered and decided that they could take him and a half-dead cop on.

He sprinted through darkened alleys, melding back into the shadows like a wraith.

Footsteps pounded the ground behind him, dozens of individuals bolstered by the intoxicants thrumming around in their brains.

Yells and curses confirmed his pursuers were not here to help.

Naruto shifted his burden and glanced around. He found what he was looking for.

"Hold on." He murmured to the groaning man.

And then he jumped, the soles of his boots ticking almost noiselessly against a garbage cans lid. Naruto crouched, the muscles of his calves and thighs bunching. The shouts and threats were coming closer. Out of the corner of his eye, the blond man could see the glow and flash of lights. Wonderful. He needed to get out of here now.

Naruto lept straight up, pushing as hard as he could against the trash can he could without rattling it. He could see the building's lip rushing closer. He had to hook his arm over the edge and haul both of them over or he would have to fight the crowd. The prospect wasn't all that attractive.

He latched his fingers over the top. The full force of his weight combined with the pounds of the fully grown man over his shoulder jerked his arm painfully.

His boots scrabbled for long seconds, at last finding purchase on the moldering brick.

He pushed his body up and over, hitting his head and spilling his burden onto the rooftop. Naruto lay still, his heartbeat drumming thick and loud in the quiet. It was so loud that they must have been able to hear it. But the crowd never paused.

Naruto waited until the last echoing footsteps had faded before he moved.

A groan to his left had him crawling to the down policeman.

"It's all right. We're safe enough for the moment. Take your time."

The older man coughed and clutched his side, hissing as he rolled over to face his rescuer.

"Kyuubi, well, well. It's good to see a friendly face in Konoha."

Naruto chuckled. It was a dry, humorless sound. "Kakashi, I thought you were smarter than this. Were you trying to get yourself killed?"

The former Konoha detective winced again. "I could ask you the same thing."

They stared each at the other, neither backing down.

At last Naruto snorted and turned back to look into the ally. So far there was no movement. But how long would it take their attackers to realize they were chasing nothing? Hopefully a long time. Maybe they would just get bored and go back to their drinking. That seemed more likely than anything else.

That didn't mean that he wanted to stay out in the open for the rest of the night. Naruto glanced back at Kakashi.

The former detective had eased himself up and it looked like he was doing a self-assessment. Naruto had to give the old guy points. For an ex-model, he was one tough dude.

"So," He said. "What were you doing out here?"

Kakashi didn't stop his probing, or look up. He merely sighed. "It seems that you have a little catching-up to do, Kyuubi."

**.:xXXx:.**

The headquarters for 'Konoha Liberation Front' was nothing more than an underground bomb shelter. Once used for very exclusive witness protection, the building had fallen into neglect and disrepair. Thankfully, its lack of use meant it was, as of yet, unknown to the Akatsuki.

Naruto bounced the older man up in an effort to get a better grip on the man's arm. Kakashi grunted but didn't protest. After the thorough beating he had received only hours before, he had needed a little help making it back to the hide-out. Neither man mentioned it.

Gingerly, Kakashi rapped five times on the turf-covered metal dome. The man waited and knocked twice more, this time slowly.

Naruto didn't bother hiding his chuckle. The detective shrugged and winced.

"Sometimes, it's better to keep things simple."

The dome popped open and a face Naruto never thought he would see in Konoha again emerged.

"Kakashi," Worry etched itself into every line of Iruka's face. As the two men eased Kakashi down into the hideout, Iruka was berating the cop for going out alone and getting beat up and having him worried sick the whole time.

It wasn't until Kakashi was sprawled out on the ancient couch that the brunette realized who had brought his lover back home.

"Oh, N…Kyuubi," They stood in awkward silence for long moments before Iruka elected to finish his sentence. "…Thank you for saving my bonehead of a boyfriend. He…probably wouldn't have made it home if you hadn't intervened."

"Don't go jumping to conclusions." The white haired man on the couch protested. But Iruka was having none of it. He turned on his lover in full temper.

"I didn't have to be there to know you would get yourself in too deep. You think that you're invincible and you're not. I'm not going to lose you to your stupid pride."

Naruto felt a jab of guilt, but pushed it away.

"So this is it." The question was unspoken.

"Yeah," Kakashi nodded to the hero. "This is the resistance."

A series of taps echoed from above.

Iruka sighed in relief and hurried up the steps to the entrance. In a matter of a minute, three men were standing on the threadbare carpet in front of Kakashi.

Asuma, Yamato and Shikamaru looked terrible, their clothes were dirty and torn in places. Their skin was covered in dirt and here and there, traces of old blood. But they were alive, which was a good deal better than Naruto had assumed a few minutes ago.

"You made it back, good." The former detective eased himself up on his elbows. "You're just in time to meet the newest member of the resistance. You all should remember this gentleman here."

Four pairs of brown eyes rested on Naruto. The blond refused to shift self-consciously. He had an image to maintain. He was a super, scary, ominous bad boy who seriously rocked and never felt weird about anything. Yeah…right…

He bucked his chin up once in a show of false bravado. "Yo, Shikamaru, I see you managed to keep yourself alive long enough to get underground. I didn't think you had it in you."

The brunette shrugged and muttered something that sounded distinctly like 'troublesome'.

He shook both Asuma's and Yamato's hands with the stiff formality one would expect from colleagues. Iruka held on a little longer than was perhaps necessary. Their eyes met for the briefest of moments and Naruto couldn't help himself. He had to look away.

"Well, now that the pleasantries are over. It's about time that I got your report."

The three men pulled up rickety looking garden chairs to Kakashi's 'bed-side'.

It struck Naruto how oddly natural this whole business of joining the underground had been. He hadn't thought there would be a cavity search for wires of anything like that, but still, joining a rebel organization should have been more monumental…right?

"It's too heavily guarded." Asuma was saying. "There's no way we could get half-way in before Akatsuki was on top of us."

"Then what about the munitions depot?"

"Same problem." Yamato shook his head. "We're only five…oh…" He nodded at Naruto before correcting himself. "…six people. Even if we got all the ammunition and weapons we need, it wouldn't matter. We don't have enough people to wage a war with the Akatsuki."

"Shikamaru," Heads turned to the superhero. But Naruto wasn't paying them any attention. His fiery orbs were focused on the man who was sitting hunched in his chair, his eyes closed. Naruto knew that look; the brunette was using his incredible mind. The man had something. "What do you think?"

The Nara didn't respond for a moment. But at last he opened his eyes.

"The answer seems straightforward. We need more pieces to maneuver across the board. After that, we can build a sound strategy for bringing down this regime."

"But we've been looking." Yamato said. "We're the last of the good guys in Konoha."

Shikamaru's smile was bitter. "Then we need to find ourselves some bad guys."

"Excuse me?" The former police captain coughed. But Asuma nodded slowly, digesting the idea.

"That's right. We never considered that there might be a small remnant of the gangs running around with a grudge against Akatsuki. And after all, 'The enemy of my enemy…'."

Iruka looked doubtful. "But would they fight for the 'good guys'? What happens after this is over? It might go back to gang war all over again."

"Better that then what's going on right now..." Kakashi murmured. "And we haven't won this yet. We don't even know if there are any gang members still alive."

Naruto felt his gut clench painfully. No, all the gangs had been put down too, in the name justice. He didn't want to think about…Sasuke...but the man might be dead. Naruto was torn between hoping that the raven hadn't survived the purge and praying that he had. If the latter were true, then at least he wouldn't have to face the raven in the end. But he couldn't wish the man death, no matter how much Sasuke wished it on him.

Through the weeks and months that had followed their first and last passionate lovemaking, Naruto couldn't seem to let go. It was an unmanly thing to hold on to memories and feelings, but that was exactly what he had found himself doing. Even now, six months after Sasuke, the first and only man he had ever fallen in love with, ripped his heart from his body, Naruto felt a stabbing pain. And that was just when he thought the man's name. Sometimes he would lose himself for hours, remembering, cherishing the image of Sasuke stretched out above him, his face as open as Naruto had ever seen it. He had seen love in those beautiful black eyes and that he would never doubt. And then he would wake up and realize that Sasuke wanted to kill him and the hurt in his chest only sunk in deeper.

He was so stupid.

"What's the alternative? We either sit here, wait for the Akatsuki to find us or we start looking for a little help."

It seemed decided then.

"All right," Asuma stood. Naruto could practically hear the man's joints protesting the action. "There's no point sitting around when we've got a job to do. We'll check in tomorrow night Kakashi."

"Don't be idiots." Naruto blurted out. All the men froze. The blond could feel Iruka's eyes on him, but he pushed on. "You guys look like you couldn't fight your way out of a wet paper sack. Just let us superhero's do the heavy lifting."

"You can't go by yourself." That was Yamato.

The blond man shrugged. "I work alone, it's less complicated and I don't have to worry about anyone's butt but mine."

"He should be fine." Kakashi nipped whatever arguments might've arisen squarely in the bud. He locked eyes with the hero. "The same rules apply to you. I expect you back here tomorrow night. It's not up for negotiation." He said when Naruto started to protest. "We need to know that you're still alive. Tomorrow night, Kyuubi."

"Fine." The blond man ambled towards the stairs. "It's the same nerdy knock you used to get in right?"

He heard scattered chuckles behind him as he stepped out into the night, confirmation. But before the hatch closed behind him, Naruto heard a footfall behind him.

"I didn't know you were back in Konoha." Naruto said evenly.

"I didn't know you were still alive." Iruka answered from behind him.

The silence stretched, long and loud. At last Naruto sighed. "What do you want me to say? I asked you to get away from here. You're a school teacher, not a soldier. You're place is in a class room with a dozen bratty junior-highers."

"My place," The brunette's hand came to rest gently on Naruto's leather-clad shoulder. "…is by the side of the man I love, fighting for what I believe in."

"Freedom…" The blond murmured.

"You" Iruka's fingers tightened.

They stayed that way for long moments, neither saying what they truly wanted to, but taking comfort in what remained unspoken.

"You and I have already hashed out the 'do's and don't's'." Iruka said. "I know I could come up with a hundred reasons why you shouldn't go out there. And I know that for every single one of those reasons is going to just be ignored."

Naruto felt himself smile.

"So really, the only thing I can do is wish you luck." Iruka took a deep bracing breath. "Good bye Naruto, be safe, be swift and come back home to me."

Naruto felt his foster father's hand clench one last time on his shoulder and then it was gone.

A second later, so was he.

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><p><strong>AN: I can feel the story winding up and holding it's breath. I know you all could probably guess what's going to happen next chapter. 'Grins evily' But then again...maybe not...**

**REVEIW! Yay!**


	23. Chapter23: Giving Up Pride and More

**Thank you for all the reviews! As promised my updates are faster. Keep those responses going and I keep writing.**

**Thanks to my Beta Rikado**

**Here you all go!**

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><p><strong>Chapter_23: Sacrificing Pride and More<strong>

He was sitting in his office when the world ended.

He was sitting there now, but the world was six months dead.

He had known they would come for him. Even now they searched for the man known as Uchiha Sasuke. They had searched this place a hundred times over and they had not found him. They would not suspect that he had returned to the ruins of his empire. But they were persistent in their searching, because Uchiha Sasuke was dangerous to them.

Even if what he truly was remained a mystery, they would silence him for what he represented. They could not know that he was Hebi. But what Konoha believed he was, was far more dangerous to Akatsuki: a leader of men. He was the old Konoha, the face that all recognized, all worshipped.

It was that worship that had earned him death. In the old world he had put himself on display, for he was safe in the public eye. But that eye had turned suddenly and inexplicably against him. It was content to watch as Akatsuki tore his empire down.

_Sound_ was the first to fall. It was not destroyed, not entirely. But he could not rebuild. Such fantasies were pointless at best.

The method of survival was simple and thus far had been effective. Hide. It was better that the rumors of his death continue to circulate. It was the reason he had not attempted to leave Konoha. He was sane enough to stay in the subterranean level of Sound until Akatsuki had found other goats to slaughter. He was, as ever, a man of infinite patience. It was not as though he were sacrificing much while he waited.

He had nothing but time. And in that time he thought. He thought about what he would do against Akatsuki. He thought about his brother and his vengeance. He thought about escape. He thought about blond hair and blue eyes. He thought about heat and moans and one perfect moment. He thought about the after and realizing he had come dangerously close to trusting someone besides himself.

He did not deny that. But he hated himself for it. And he hated Naruto all the more for it…Kyuubi all the more for it. Kyuubi…Naruto…

He thought about them…him too.

Orphan…killer…intrigue…annoyance…victim…target…

Each could not be without the other. Without one, the second could not exist.

Uzumaki Naruto was Kyuubi. Kyuubi was Uzumaki Naruto. One he valued, the other he sought to destroy. He could not separate them even in his own thoughts.

And he didn't know what to think about that.

**.:xXXx:.**

The first bullet clipped his shoulder, spinning and dropping him onto the street faster than a stone. The second had shattered his right knee-cap. That one stung.

They found him just as the sun was dipping below the horizon line. Darkness should have meant safety and cover. But now it spelled danger in every lurking shadow.

The Akatsuki were chasing him, forcing him to find escape routes while dodging their never-ending rain of bullets. He was on the defensive, but if the two guys ever wised up, Naruto didn't know if he would survive. He would survive his wounds and heal soon enough, but at the moment he had more pressing concerns; like getting away from Akatsuki and heading back to the hideout.

The steady boom of gunfire was slowly eating away at his stamina. His leg throbbed, but he could feel the muscles and tendons knitting themselves despite his constant leaping bounds which tore painfully it. His shoulder was in much the same condition, but he was worried that the injury would heal with the bullet still inside.

The Akatsuki were keeping him moving and off balance so he couldn't get at them. But he had to turn the tables and soon.

Dusk was looming rapidly. The colorless wash of buildings bled together, grays and blacks morphing and shifting as the night drew ever closer.

Naruto was not bothered by this. He hardly noticed the change beyond a subtle shift in color and the lack of glare from the setting sun. To Kyuubi night was just like a colorless day.

The Akatsuki were not so fortunate. They were still human, with human eyes and senses. And in the blur that had become Konoha's backdrop, neither noticed that their target suddenly vanished from view…until it was a split second too late.

Naruto felt the smooth skin of a neck under his fingers and wrapped his hands tight. His victim's surprised gasp never emerged. It stuck somewhere along his tightly clenched fingers.

The muzzle of a gun poked sharply into his cheek. Naruto pushed himself backwards and away an instant before he heard the weapon's echoing report. The sharp scent of gunpowder hit his nostrils and he felt the bullet whip past his temple. Too close.

Naruto let gravity take him down to the street below. The lamps in this section of the city never worked. He was engulfed in shadow.

Curses and a hail of bullets followed him. It appeared as though the Akatsuki wouldn't give up their prey so easily. Good.

The blond leapt, perching atop one rusted lamp-post. He could see the two men. So far they could not see him. But that could change and probably would the closer they got to him. The position he was in at the moment offered a great vantage point but no cover. He had to get moving.

His new hiding place was not difficult to find. The towering ruins of Southern Konoha offered a myriad of pits, nooks and crannies. He settled in as quickly and quietly as was possible and waited senses alert and ready.

Running footsteps pattered across the gravel from a half dozen buildings closer to his hiding spot.

"You idiot, we had him. How could you lose a guy that had you by the throat?"

Naruto recognized the first voice. It was the big gun man who had faced down Suigetsu all those months ago. The second voice wasn't as familiar.

"You're the sharp-shooter. You should have just shot him instead of playing with your food."

Naruto caught a flash of bright hair and held his breath. It was the blond arsonist. They were only a few feet away from his hole when they stopped.

The blond could have reached out and pulled a few strands of hair if he'd been feeling suicidal. Adrenaline was shielding him from a good portion of the pain. He didn't know what would happen when that wore off.

"I don't know why Itachi likes partnering with you. You're such a nuisance."

A chuckled answer was what the blond Akatsuki received in return. "Itachi and I understand one another. Besides, it's your own fault that your partner got the kabob. You should be more responsible and you won't be in these situations."

"Sasori was a fool." The blond hissed. "He didn't even understand the truth and utter beauty of my craft." The hiss turned into a dark laugh. "It's just too bad he didn't stay alive long enough to witness the triumph of my art. That idiot Hokage was the perfect medium for my creation."

Naruto's eyes widened.

"Yeah, he did make a good 'boom'." Agreed Kissame. "It's too bad you couldn't have strapped this guy with a bomb. We might've caught him."

The blonds' answering statement was loud, rude and physically impossible. But it didn't seem to bother his partner much. The tall man simply chuckled and started away.

"Come on, we're not going to find him standing around and chatting like a bunch of old women."

Naruto held his breath, listening to their footsteps dwindle into the distance. The silence stretched long, but still he refused to move. His knee throbbed. He could feel the chunk of metal sitting against the bone. The ache was incredible.

At last the combined agony from leg and shoulder forced him into action. If he didn't get the bullet out now, it wouldn't matter if the Akatsuki were gone or not. He wouldn't be able to move with a slug nestled against bone and joint.

He looked at the wound properly for the first time and his stomach roiled. It was a mess of drying blood and cartilage. The gap, however, was closing fast enough to watch. It was the second time in his life Naruto cursed his powers. The first was after he lost Sasuke.

The blond winced; from painful memory or his shattered knee he didn't want to decide.

He couldn't see the bullet, which meant he would have to dig for it.

Naruto pulled off his jacket and stuffed a sleeve in this mouth. It was better than nothing. The leather would muffle some of the sound at least.

He eased his pointer in gently and nearly bit through the jacket. Pain lanced up his thigh. The nerves screamed as he worked the digit in deeper, but he couldn't stop. If he did, he wouldn't be able to start again.

The pad of his finger met with a hard ridge. It was the bullet. It was then Naruto realized his mistake. He wasn't going to be able to get the fragment out with only one finger. He was going to have to…use another.

Thumb slowly worked into the gap alongside the first. Every millimeter was agony. Fresh streams of blood seeped between the two digits, pooling on the pavement.

Naruto took a deep breath. The pain was going to his head. Thinking was muddled and difficult. He spread his fingers, growling instead of screaming against the leather bunched tightly in his mouth. Then he had a hold. He gripped the metal shard with his nails and yanked it from his torn flesh.

His knee flared once, bright white and hot. And then the adrenaline left him so suddenly his head was spinning. Naruto panted hard, clinging desperately to the wall of his hiding-place. It was out. Somewhere in the back of his mind, the blond was doing a fist pump. At the moment, however, he was trying not to fall over.

His body was shaking. Self-inflicted pain always seemed to do that.

He heard the crunch of gravel underfoot. His eyes jerked up and into the muzzle of a giant gun.

"Well, well, what do we have here? It figures Akatsuki couldn't kill your superhuman butt. Just my luck I'd be the one to find you."

The gun hovered for heartbeats, looking Naruto squarely in the eye. And then it was pulled away and Suigetsu peered down at the superhero. The man grinned and swore.

"I thought I heard that pisser Kissame talkin' over here. I guess I missed him."

"Not by much." The blond said. "It's too bad too. I could have used your live carcass as bait to make my escape."

Suigetsu snorted and glanced around the dark street. "Well, there's no point us standing out in the open, yapping like deaf dogs."

"Speak for yourself." Naruto eased gingerly back into his jacket. "I'm hiding. You're the one standing out in the open."

"Do you want my help or not?" The gunman shot back grumpily. "I could just leave your butt here for the Akatsuki to find when they come around again."

"You think they'll come back this way?"

"Always do."

Naruto winced as he tested his knee. It was better than it had been a few minutes ago. But considering that it had been nothing but hamburger a few minutes ago, that wasn't saying much. Now that the initial adrenaline burst had left his system, the joint ached horribly.

"Fine, but you're going to have to help me get to wherever it is you've got in mind. This leg of mine isn't going anywhere on its own."

At this, Suigetsu's smile turned positively evil. "So the big bad superhero needs my help. Isn't that just precious?"

Naruto growled. "I could always just kill you and take my chances. I don't think your boss would be too surprised if you went missing out here at this time of night."

Suigetsu only grinned wider. "Yeah, and I bet your Mommy told you to be home in time for bed."

The superhuman snorted. "Well actually, someone gave me a curfew. I'm already late."

The bleach blond stopped smiling. "There's someone else out there besides you?"

Naruto's knee and shoulder had quieted some, enough to ease the throbbing in his skull. He peered up at the other man. "Not everyone's as stupid as you. Surviving those bastards only takes a little brainpower."

Suigetsu ignored the comment. "How many others are there?"

"When I left there were five."

"You think they're still alive?"

"They have to be." There was no alternative worth considering, not when his father was with them.

The gunman sighed and slung his gun over a shoulder. "Well, I might as well take you to base. At least Akatsuki won't finish you off. Can you at least stand on your own? Or do I have to do all the work?"

Naruto levered himself upright. The ache came back, but it was bearable. His shoulder was taking longer than he thought. The bullet had ripped out a good chunk along with it. It would heal, but it would take time, more than he'd thought.

"Where are we going?"

Suigetsu wrapped an arm around Naruto's waist, earning him a warning growl, but the glare was nothing compared to Sasuke's.

"Quit being a pussy." The bleach blond said, dragging Kyuubi down the street. "The hideout is just a block down this way."

**.XX.**

_Sound_ was a wreck. Naruto hardly recognized it for the once monolithic conclave of lights, passion and alcohol. One side of the proud structure was caved in. What had once been seamless black stone littered the ground around them. The second half still stood, mainly untouched, but with a few pieces missing here and there. The effect was still ominous, like the bones of a great creature left to bleach in the sun.

"You stayed here?"

The gunman nodded mutely. "You gotta figure it's the last place Akatsuki's gunna look for you. After they…well, I guess you can see what they did to the place. But they think it's the last place you're gonna hide. So we're pretty safe."

"Who is 'we'?"

Suigetsu was leading him over to the standing portion of _Sound_. The alley between buildings was a myriad of concrete, exposed piping and garbage. The benefactor wasn't going to rebuild South Konoha. He would let it stand as a monument to 'before'.

The Hebi merc helped them over a largish slab of asphalt pushed high and inclined towards the sky. Behind it was a small space clear, for the most part, of debris. The effect looked natural, though Naruto suspected it was not.

"How many of you are left?"

Suigetsu reached into a crevice in the rock. It had looked real. But a second later Naruto heard a 'click' and a seam appeared in the wall in front of them. The bleached blond eased the door inwards and climbed inside.

"Three of us made it out alive."

Naruto felt himself tense.

"Who?"

The door slide back into place once the superhero had joined Suigetsu. They were in some sort of tunnel. It was made of the same obsidian that structured the rest of _Sound_. Naruto could see it sloping off into the distant darkness. Beyond that he could hear sounds, muffled by distance and the dampening that came from being underground.

"I asked you whose left?"

But the gunman wasn't listening. Suigetsu was already trailing down the long hallway towards the source of the noise. Naruto had no choice but to follow. He didn't know how to open the door he'd just come in through. So, cursing himself, the blond followed his rescuer.

Progress was slow, but gradually speeding up. His knee was still an unrecognizable mess, but at least it would support his weight now.

The passage opened up into a wide chamber. The glow of LED lights reflected off wall and ceiling while carpet husked underfoot.

It was cold.

But the temperature had nothing to do with the chill that shot down Naruto's spine.

Cerulean met Ebony for the first time in six months.

"Kyuubi," Sasuke's voice was smooth as silk; just the way he remembered it. And just like that every emotion he thought he had shoved down deep inside himself came rushing to the surface, gushing over him like a tidal wave. Love, hated, bitterness, grief, apathy. It was all there…because he was here. He was a fool to think that he would ever be able to forget someone like Sasuke. Maybe, somewhere deep inside, he had always known it would come to this. They couldn't seem to stay away from one another.

It was always going to be Sasuke.

"Yo, Boss," Suigetsu cut in. "I found this little guy in an ally. It looks like he lost his owner. Can we keep him?"

Naruto felt his chest constrict. The Uchiha's eyes were cold. But the man said nothing. He simply continued to stare down the blond as if he believed Naruto were some sort of mirage.

"Actually," Naruto said. "I was out here looking for help, so I was hoping that I could get to keep you." He hadn't meant to give any hidden messages in that statement, but the raven's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"There are only six of us in North Konoha. Not enough to launch any kind of offensive against Akatsuki. And you all no matter how much of a genius your leader is, you can't win against a group like that without more people."

"The plan was to wait them out." The speaker, a man with orange hair Naruto had only seen once before, shook his head.

"But they aren't going to just go away." Naruto said. "Once they establish a base of power, they'll be able to find you no matter where you hide."

"They've already established a base of power." The woman known as Karin replied. She was lying prone on a couch. Bandages encircled her ribcage.

"Ah, how is my invalid doing tonight?" Suigetsu sauntered over to the redhead and began jabbing at her side with a finger. "Still faking?"

Karin slapped at the offending hand. "It's your fault the wound keeps reopening. If I didn't have to pull your butt out of the fire so much, it would be healed by know."

"Don't blame me for your…"

Naruto stopped listening. Irritation overrode his logic and before he realized what he was doing he had turned and yelled at Sasuke.

"These are your people. So tell them to do something besides rot and die. Are you a leader or not? Are you a man? Are you going to fight, or are you going to lie down in this grave you've dug for yourself like the snake that you are?"

Heat rushed to his face the instant the words left his mouth and Naruto took a step back. He had never been so thankful for his mask.

"It's their decision to stay or go." The Uchiha said. "Ask them."

"But Sasuke," Karin stopped bickering and looked up at her leader. "You're still who we follow. You're Boss,"

"Don't be a fool." Sasuke's tone was sharp. "Hebi is no more."

"Sasuke,"

"Go or stay. I am no longer your leader."

Naruto swallowed and cleared his throat. "I…uh, have to get back to the rest of my people soon. It would probably be best to if whoever was coming came along with me. So, if you're coming, then I'm leaving now."

The three former gang lieutenants looked at one another. It was Juugo who answered first. "Wherever Sasuke goes, so do we."

Naruto opened his mouth to argue, but the Uchiha's calm voice smoothly interrupted.

"Juugo, Suigetsu, take Karin up the tunnel. I will join you shortly."

Three heads nodded and without another word, they walked back the way Naruto had come minutes before.

The blond watched them go, relieved more than anything else. He didn't want to come back empty handed. They didn't have the time to spend searching for people who didn't exist. Naruto knew that this was the last of those left alive. There was no one else alive.

He turned to face Sasuke and was met with the muzzle of the gang leader's weapon. The safety clicked off and Naruto's eyes went wide.

"Sasuke…"

"I told you I would kill you."

There was no hesitation in the words, no trace of the care and kindness that had once trebled the raven's voice. His eyes were cold and dark and full of hate.

The image in front of him blurred. The beginnings of tears. It had come to this. Regret mixed with sorrow in the pit of his stomach, making him sick. He might be able to get the gun away from the raven, kill the man before he pulled the trigger. But he wouldn't, he…wouldn't.

The blond closed his eyes and reached up to pull down his mask. He was going to die as Uzumaki Naruto, not Kyuubi.

"Don't touch it." The muzzle pressed against his forehead. "Leave it on."

Blue eyes opened slowly. The raven's face was an unreadable mask of ice. But he hadn't fired.

"Sasuke…" He was still alive. That had to mean something. The implications made his pulse pound, his nerves raw, his mouth move.

"This is bigger than just us, Sasuke. It's bigger than me betraying your trust and you breaking my heart. But if you're really intent on pulling that trigger, don't just stand there and say it. Do it!"

The sound of gunshots reverberated around stone room. They were coming from the entrance.

They moved as one, sprinting for the ramp that led to sound of rapidly exchanged gunfire, vengeance and wounds forgotten for the moment.

They emerged from the secret door to a hail of bullets. The three lieutenants were crouched behind the same chunk of asphalt Naruto and Suigetsu had clambered over. It provided some cover from the rainstorm of slugs pelting down on them.

"Suigetsu." Sasuke spoke over the thunder of gunfire.

"They came out of nowhere." The bleach blond gunman answered. "I knew they were going to circle back like usual, but this time they decided to take a short-cut or something. There are two of them, the one with the big gun I told you about and the arsonist. They've blockaded the exit and I think they saw the door."

"What are we going to do Sasuke?" Karin was propped up on a boulder, her luger peeking through a notch in the rock.

The raven didn't answer. Instead his eyes were searching, looking everywhere, taking in every detail.

"We have to go another way. Can you scale that wall?" It took Naruto a moment to realize that Sasuke was addressing him.

The raven was looking behind them. _Sound's_ high wall towered over them twenty feet in the air. What Sasuke was asking dawned on him a second later. The brunette wanted Kyuubi to carry them one by one up to the top of that building. From there they could all vanish before the Akatsuki had a chance to follow.

Naruto wanted to curse. "I probably could've, if I hadn't been shot. But the wounds are still healing and I don't think I can climb that sheer surface without some hand-holds."

A concussive 'boom' rent the air right next to Naruto's head. A chunk of the wall near the top exploded, leaving a jagged crater behind.

Suigetsu blew the smoke from his still smoldering gun. His grin could have spanned the Atlantic.

"Is that a big enough hand-hold for you?"

**.XX.**

Karin was the first up, despite her avid protesting. Progress was slow and painful. His shoulder was sore and the wound in his knee had reopened.

Hauling Juugo up to the top nearly killed him.

By the time Suigetsu was standing on top of _Sound_, the Akatsuki had figured out what was going on. The three lieutenants tried their best to cover their leader's retreat from the roof. Even with it, Naruto knew he didn't have much time.

He landed next to the raven and hissed. His leg was telling him that one more trip up that wall was all he was going to get.

"Come on Sasuke, hold on to me."

The look that he received was unfathomable. It was full of things that Naruto didn't understand, but desperately wanted to. More than anything, the blond wanted to touch this man, to hold him and tell him that he wished he didn't have super powers. For one terrifyingly heart-stopping moment, Naruto wanted to be just a man, with normal love and a normal life.

The raven slipped his gun away and wrapped one arm around Naruto's chest and shoulder. It was almost as if he were saying 'I'm no damsel in distress'.

Naruto grabbed a hold of Sasuke's jacket with his bad arm. He would need the good one for climbing. He'd learned the hard way that he had to trust his cargo to hold on to him by themselves.

He gathered himself and sprang. His leg screamed at him, throwing curses and blistering pain. Naruto grit his teeth and stretched out his hand. Fingers met with textured rock and he clung.

Naruto took a bracing breath and then began to climb. From behind he could hear the 'pop, pop' of gunshots. Akatsuki was trying to hit them before they could escape. Bullets riddled the wall around them. Both Sasuke and Naruto were wearing black, that helped. But all it took was one luck shot.

They were only a few feet from the top. The blond could see Juugo reaching down. If he could just get a little higher, just a little further-

'Boom'

The explosion shook Naruto's fingers loose and he was falling, his feet and hand scrabbling for purchase. His left arm found it and he grasped desperately to it. He paid the price a second later, when the full force of his and Sasuke's weight crashed into his injured arm.

His fingers loosened around the Uchiha's clothing. They were hung suspended. Naruto's good arm was stretched out, holding onto the shirt Sasuke wore. That bit of cloth was all that was keeping the Uchiha in the air.

Bangs and booms redoubled. Some were skittering dangerously close. The Akatsuki were coming closer.

Naruto's body was going numb. It was past the point of pain, slipping into unconsciousness. The strain had taken its toll. The blond forced himself to stay aware, to keep holding onto the wall. He had to keep Sasuke from…

"Naruto," His name. Naruto looked down at the man he loved and his heart stopped.

The gun was pointed at him once more. But the look on Sasuke's face was clear: resolve.

When the man spoke, his voice held no malice, none of the hatred from that day.

"Sasuke…"

"You were right…this is bigger than us."

The gun in his hand leapt once. The slug caught Naruto's hand, forcing it to open, forcing him to let go of Sasuke.

"No!"

Naruto pushed away from the wall to dive after the raven. Hands wrapped around the back of his collar, hoisting him up, away. Not where he wanted to go. No, Sasuke was down there, Sasuke was falling. The Akatsuki was down there. No, no, no.

The wind threw itself into a fever pitch, churning the loose dirt into a dust cloud.

Naruto watched as Sasuke's form was lost in the thick swirling mass as it plummeted earthward.

"Sasuke!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Another Cliffy. 'Ducks'. Don't hate me! Please tell me how I'm doing.**

**Until next time...**


	24. Chapter24: Saying Goodbye

**Sorry about the wait. I had a time and a half putting this chapter together.** **I hope you all enjoy it.**

**Thanks for all the reviews!**

**Thanks to my BETA- Rikado!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter_24: Saying Goodbye<strong>

He didn't know how he got back to the hideout. Memories blurred and smeared together, some abstract watercolor. All that he could see was Sasuke's face disappearing into the swirling dust below. Over and over the man fell. Again and again, he was dragged hopelessly, helplessly upward, away.

"_Let me go, let me go! I have to go after him!"_

_He struggled and twisted, finally pulling free of Juugo's grasp. He stepped for the edge, ready to jump over the crumbling edge. Hands wrapped around his chest and he was dragged away yet again. "No, he's down there; I have to go get him!"_

"_Don't be stupid." Suigetsu shouted in his ear. "He did this so we could escape!"_

_He couldn't just leave him._

"_Don't you get it?" He sacrificed himself for you! Don't you dare spit on that."_

_Sacrificed himself for…_

Somehow he had directed the three former gang lieutenants to the resistance headquarters. Through the numbness he could feel congratulatory slaps on the back.

Karin, Juugo and Suigetsu seemed to integrate well into the rank and file. They were used to taking orders. As long as they had someone to follow, the who didn't matter.

"Now we have some pieces to work with." Shikamaru sat, staring at a map of Konoha. Nine chess figures were lined up along its edge. Three pawns, two knights, two bishops, one rook and a queen.

"Who's who?" Suigetsu peered at the worked marble. Karin slapped his hands away before he could touch any of them. The bleach blond glared at her, but otherwise remained contained.

Shikamaru shrugged. "You're not a pawn if it matters to you that much."

The gunman gave a satisfied nod and made no further comment.

"Now, we have nine people. That's not as many as I'd hoped, but we have something to work with." The brunette hunched over, considering. "I had thought that we might start with gorilla strikes against the Akatsuki, but…"

Everyone was thinking the same thing, but Naruto was the first to speak.

"We can't win a war of attrition with them."

The Nara's look was his agreement. "They have the resources of Konoha behind them. But it's more than that. Konoha worships them. Kakashi found that out the hard way last night."

"Agreed," The former detective rubbed at a bruised collarbone. "Our best defense right now is secrecy. Once we pop out and start opposing Akatsuki directly, that advantage will disappear."

"So we have one shot." Suigetsu grinned. "That sounds about right."

"Who do they have left?" Asuma asked. "How are our odds?"

"You don't want to know the answer to that." Shikamaru's smile had no humor. He looked at Kyuubi. "I don't know how many members they had to begin with, Kyuubi?"

"Seven members was all that I ever saw at once." The blond man said. "I had information that there was one more. But I never saw them. And…" He arched an eyebrow. "Well, they've had a few missing cast members since they first got here."

"Who?"

Naruto flopped onto the couch next to Kakashi. The detective gave a grunt of discomfort, but Kyuubi continued to busily adjust himself on the sofa. "That sucker with the red hair, not the leader, but the other guy and a dude with a mask."

Shikamaru's fingers toyed with a pawn. "So they have five."

Yamato sighed. "I think our chances just got a little bit better."

"Our chances aren't so terrible. We still have the element of surprise."

"Not anymore," It was the first time Juugo had spoken since his arrival. Everyone turned to look. "The Akatsuki know that there are at least three who oppose them."

"How?" Yamato was incredulous.

"You could say we weren't exactly subtle when we left our old hideout."

Suigetsu chortled and wrapped his arm around Karin's waist. It was all the confirmation the rest of the resistance needed.

"That's a drawback." Shikamaru's brow furrowed.

"How bad is this going to hurt us?"

The brunette spared a glance at Asuma. "We're going to have to move sooner than I originally planned."

"How soon?" Kakashi shoved himself upright on the couch.

"As soon as we can." Shikamaru didn't look up this time. "I'd thought that was obvious Kakashi. The longer we stay stationary, the more likely it is Akatsuki will find us."

"So let's get planning then." Kyuubi was up. Eight pairs of eyes tracked his steady pacing. "It's not complicated, or at least I hope it's not. Get them before they get us. So you," He pointed a finger at the Nara. "...get plotting, genius."

A flurry of action was the response. It was all that Naruto hoped for.

"I'll start doing an inventory on all our weapons and ammunition." Karin volunteered.

"It's not much." Yamato said.

Suigetsu snorted and trailed up behind the redhead. "That won't be a problem. We brought our own party gear. There should be enough to go around."

The three trailed away to a sectioned off corner of the hideout.

Asuma, Kakashi and Shikamaru were already neck-deep in maps and chess pieces by now.

Juugo was in another corner doing something Naruto couldn't see.

That left himself and…

"I'll go and get us something to eat."

"Iruka…"

"Kakashi, I know better than anyone else that boys who are going out to conquer the world need a good meal to send them off. I'm not going to just sit and twiddle my thumbs feeling useless. I can do this and I am."

The smile Kakashi gave Iruka was so blissfully adoring Naruto felt a pang of green in his chest.

"And I'm the only one here that Akatsuki hasn't issued a notice for. I'll see you all in a few hours."

Iruka looked right at Naruto when he said this. The blond understood. It was parent talk, a subliminal message that was meant for him. Akatsuki might, **might** be clued in on Kyuubi, but Uzumaki Naruto was, as far as they knew, a normal citizen.

Iruka was telling him to come along.

And Naruto found that he wanted nothing more.

**.:xXXx:.**

Slipping away was easy. He was like a ninja after all.

He knew where Iruka would be waiting, or rather, where he would meet his foster father. He was a good deal faster than the other man was on foot.

His apartment was just as he'd left it two days ago. It was mostly clean. A few stray article of clothing lay scattered across the floor and a handful of dishes piled in the sink. His type 'A' father wasn't likely to have heart attack the second he crossed the threshold though. That was the idea anyway.

Naruto stripped quickly, stuffing his costume into the half-full clothing hamper.

He was searching for a shirt when he heard the knock on his door.

"Come in!" He called.

Iruka entered. He was red-faced and a little breathless. He had probably jogged the entire way to Naruto's apartment. Before the man could speak, Naruto had led him to the kitchen and shoved a glass into his hand.

"There's water in the tap. I've got to get decent."

When he returned, this time covered in a char-coal grey T-shirt, Iruka's breathing had evened out.

The blond took one look at his foster father and knew something was wrong. Brown eyes, so familiar, tracked his steady approach. But Iruka said nothing.

"Come on," Naruto grabbed for his jacket and wallet. He jerked his head towards the door, shoving keys into a pocket before stepping outside. "We've got a few people to get food for and I don't think that they'd appreciate delays."

Wordlessly, Iruka followed.

**.:xXXx:.**

They exchanged few words, nothing beyond 'Should I grab ketchup?' or 'I'm not eating that for breakfast.'

Their thoughts weighed heavily. It filled the air so thickly there was no room for what they wanted to say. So they didn't.

It had been years since they'd gone to the store together for anything. Not since Naruto moved out…not since he left Konoha.

It felt a little like coming home for real. A balm that numbed the festering wounds in his heart.

He didn't want to think about tomorrow. He might not even have this tomorrow.

What more would Akatsuki take from him before this nightmare was over?

"They won't win."

Iruka looked so sure. Naruto wished that he felt the same.

"Losing isn't a luxury we have." The blond replied.

Even those nine words crowded in so close it was suffocating.

They left the store laden with plastic plates, utensils and every yummy ingredient Naruto could think of. Iruka had picked out all the nasty ones.

A few residents jogged up the streets. The gently cresting sun colored the pale sky in deceptively happy hues.

"A little past six."

The blond kicked at a pebble and said nothing.

"I'm proud of you, you know."

It hurt to hear the words. But there would be no other time for them.

"I'm proud of both my strong men. But they can both be so pig-headed sometimes. They just don't know that once and a while, it's alright to be human."

"If I stop pretending that I'm immortal," Naruto whispered. "I'll bleed out."

It was Iruka's turn to kick silently at a chip of concrete.

"You're stronger than them." He said at last. "You can't let them tear you down."

He wasn't going to cry. He didn't want to think about it, but the wound was so fresh. He wanted to yell at his foster father for being so stupid. But Iruka didn't know what he had lost already.

"I was going to sit with him." The blond whispered. He doesn't trust his voice to hold if he spoke any louder. "On the bench."

The sharp intake of breath proved his anguish wasn't baseless. It meant something.

"Who?"

Naruto closed his eyes, forcing the wet back. No tears.

His words are choked with them though.

"The one I couldn't save."

They arrived at the hideout's entrance. It was then Naruto remembered his bare face. He would have to go back and change back into his costume.

But once more Iruka proved the reliable parent. He pulled the modified mask/shirt from a bag and tossed it to his son.

It's a matter of a moment to swap the articles on his body. They knock. And then they were inside, sealing the door behind them.

"Hey," Iruka chuckles out. "I hope that you're all in the mood for omelets."

But no one is paying attention. They are all glued to the television in the corner. It was where Naruto had seen Juugo crouch just before he left. The man must have fixed it.

"What are you guys doing?" Naruto shouts, swaggering over to the tight mob. "Killing brain cells while you should be planning…"

"I am 'the benefactor."

Naruto caught a glimpse of the screen.

Blue eyes went wide.

He couldn't breathe.

"No…"

**.XX.**

He hurt. Each breath set his ribcage aflame.

He didn't remember much after impact. Besides the initial fall there was only blackness and bleared images, sensations. He'd expected the blackness, planned for it. It was the waking up that was unexpected.

He had planned to die.

Things were just tidier that way.

But life just loved to throw wrenches in his well-laid strategies.

He was laying on something cold. Somewhere off to the right he could hear the wind blowing. It caressed his unprotected body with icy accuracy. He shivered. Pain registered mutely from head to toe. The fall, and what came after it.

They had taken him here. He could only speculate where 'here' was at this point, but that was another matter altogether. His immediate concerns were: why they had decided to keep him alive and how long it would be before they came back?

Footsteps sounded from somewhere off in the far darkness. The answer to his second question, it seemed, was: not long.

Hinges creaked and several pairs of steps moved into the room he occupied.

"He's awake."

Sasuke had a moment to identify the voice before he was hauled roughly to his feet. His legs screamed at him. One was broken, the other felt like it was only badly bruised.

The raven grit his teeth. He was an Uchiha. No matter the agony, he would not give his captors the privilege of hearing it.

Sasuke was yanked into a sort of stumbling half-shamble that had him gritting his teeth again, but not because his legs hurt. He would not allow his pride to take any more damage than it already had.

His ribs ached and he was fairly certain that there was a chunk of debris imbedded in his back, nestled next to his spine. He could feel the rough rub against the perforated edges of his skin and an occasional sting when the fragment dug deeper.

The raven was tossed unceremoniously into a seat and the blindfold was suddenly removed. Light glared into his unprepared eyes, forcing them closed.

"Citizen's of Konoha," A man spoke to Sasuke's right. It was a voice he had never heard before. "For long months we have struggled to rebuild this beautiful city. You have all worked hard to defy the tyranny of men who once oppressed you. Like this man."

Brutal fingers closed around Sasuke's jaw, lifting his face up. The raven wrenched away, refusing to be man-handled, even in this moment of venerability. He lifted his face before the hand could grab for him again. He sat, proud and straight, through the pain that didn't matter. He was an Uchiha. He would die like one.

**.:xXXx:.**

His heart had stopped beating. For one, horrible moment, Naruto felt the world end.

Sasuke looked regal. His face was splashed with bruises, marks from rough treatment at the hands of his captors. He was hostage, held, but you would never have known to look at him. Sasuke was above his surroundings, so in control. It was surreal.

The man on the TV screen didn't stop. He kept talking, his words condemning Sasuke, the man he'd thought already dead.

"I am the man you know as Benefactor. It has been my duty to serve you and it is my wish to continue." The red-headed man, Pain, indicated the Uchiha. "To demonstrate my sincerity, I offer to you, the leader of Hebi; one of the last to oppose your new strength, Uchiha Sasuke."

There it was. Everyone knew. No one knew how to react. But Pain's next words shattered their shock.

"As both an example and promise, this man will die tomorrow as the sun rises."

The leader of Akatsuki stepped from the screen and the television went black. A commercial colored yellow blinked on, but no one cared. Juugo flicked the device off; he was the only one moving.

The silence lasted for several immeasurable seconds and then, as one, nine voices mingled in the once empty air. Some wanted to let Sasuke die. Some were already proposing rescue plans. Others were expressing concern about being too quick to leap at this news.

Finally, Kakashi began banging a cup against an old coffee table. This didn't do much since the cup was one of the disposable plastic glasses Iruka had just purchased. The former detective tossed the crumpled cup over the back of the couch and stood.

Eight pairs of eyes turned to him and one by one, voices faded to nothing.

"Thank you," The man cleared his throat. "Now then, Shikamaru, what do you think about this recent development?"

The brunette fought down surprise. He hadn't expected Kakashi to defer to him, not that he minded really. It was unprecedented; nice, but unprecedented.

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. His mind was already going at warp speed.

"The time of the execution is convenient. The traditional venue for capital punishment in the past is also very out in the open. Pain also said that Sasuke would serve as an example. It might be a trap."

"Yes, there's no reason to go rushing in when Akatsuki is lying in wait."

"No reason?" Karin placed a hand on Suigetsu's shaking shoulder. The man was not crying. "Our boss is in enemy hands and they're going to kill him tomorrow morning. Who cares if it's a trap or not? We outnumber the Akatsuki anyway. So stop being a bunch of bitc-"

"Suigetsu,"

The gunman stepped away from his lover, less then enchanted with the rest of them at the moment. "Fine," He barked. "If that's the way you're going to play, then I'll go and help my boss by my lonesome."

"Calm down," Kakashi said. "No one is making a decision either way. Right now we're just trying to figure out what's going on."

Suigetsu made no comment. But he stayed where he was.

"Shikamaru."

The brunette nodded. "However, we have no reason to assume Pain knows we have access to a television. He would know about the four rebels that escaped from Sound. It could be that he was referring only to them. He might not know that there are nine of us ready to fight him."

"Eight," Naruto interrupted. "Or are we going to rely on school teachers to fight our battles?"

He didn't look at Iruka.

"Iruka has as much right to be here as the rest of us." Yamato said.

"Perhaps there is a less combat oriented role he could play in the plan." Asuma offered.

"I'm not going to be coddled." Iruka protested. "This is my home and I will fight for it, die if I have to."

"That's Shikamaru's call." Naruto replied.

"What I do with my life is my call." The brunette shot back.

Juugo's massive hands clapped together, again bringing silence to the nine figures gathered underground.

"This debate is pointless. We must decide if we will go at all. If we will not then there is only one plan that matters: the destruction of Akatsuki."

It was truth, plain and simple.

"Shikamaru,"

The Nara was beginning to believe Kakashi had only deferred to his opinion to avoid this decision. Never had his mind felt so stretched.

Finally he spoke. "We have one choice. There is no reason to suppose Pain knows we are still alive. This is our chance to bring them down."

"Even if it's a trap?"

"If we know that there is that possibility, we can prepare for it. We have no other alternative. We go, or we lose the three allies we have just gained."

Common sense quieted the group; everyone but Naruto.

"Alright," He nodded. "Now that that's settled, let's get ourselves a plan of attack."

**.XX.**

It was a few hours before nightfall, the scheduled time of departure.

Kakashi sat with his back propped against the hideout's entrance, his eyes on the sunset.

He felt the sharp taps vibrate against his spine. The man leaned forward, just enough for the door to open. He didn't have to look to know it was Iruka. The brunette started speaking the instant his head cleared the entrance.

"Kakashi, what are you doing out here in broad daylight? You're a wanted man. Akatsuki could see you and then everything would go down the drain."

Iruka was pulled down, his back pressed against a firm chest. Kakashi's arms wrapped around him, keeping him secure.

"Kakashi," Iruka's protests were interrupted by the lips on his ear. They didn't stay there for long. And soon both were locked together, tongues lazily exploring. There was none of the desperation Iruka had expected. It was slow, it was hot, it was everything at once; so much it left him breathless. The low, simmering heat worked its way down his body, bringing passion to a leisurely, controlled boil. It was pure magic, the stroking, the moaning, the sweet care with which Kakashi seduced his mouth.

His mind and body melted as one, allowing the soft press of lips and the firm pressure of body. They eased apart, breathing in each other's exhale, drinking in the nearness.

He sighed and relaxed into the embrace, allowing Kakashi's words to flow over him.

"The sunset is amazing tonight."

Iruka was not a man given to irrational fears. That portion of himself had begun to dwindle as the months passed. He hated what Akatsuki had made him. Now that the decision was made, the plan set, the only thing left to do was wait.

It was selfish, but he was glad he had already spoken to Naruto that morning. He knew that his foster son would understand his need to be with Kakashi. They had already said their goodbyes.

There was no reason to speak. Words were superfluous and would only dilute the honesty of the moment. It was the purity of feeling, of being wrapped in one another, emotionally and physically. The support, comfort and serenity could never be replicated; no afterglow could compare.

Even 'I love you' seemed a tarnished substitute for this single perfect evening. This was all about them.

He didn't want to think about what tomorrow would hold. For the moment, he had Kakashi. For this evening, they were in love. For now, nothing could tear them apart.

For this once, it was enough.

**.XX.**

Naruto rolled again. Springs dug painfully into his side. It didn't matter though, he couldn't sleep.

He was so…he didn't know. His emotions had been in turmoil for so long he didn't know which way was up. He was glad that Sasuke wasn't dead, but that might not last. The raven had survived, but was it all in vain? Would he live only to die at the hands of Pain? The man had just agreed to let Naruto go at the cost of himself. But would the raven accept that Naruto still felt…still loved…? What if Sasuke died? What would happen then? Of all the possible futures Naruto had envisioned, that one held no hope.

He couldn't let the Akatsuki take Sasuke away from him. He wouldn't let them.

He glanced down at his watch. Dusk would be in less than an hour. Then it would be time to put all their careful planning into action.

They could win. They could beat Akatsuki. They would beat Akatsuki. They **had** to.

He glanced around at the rest of the group. He had seen Iruka sneaking off towards the exit earlier. He knew where his father was going. He hoped Kakashi would be alright.

The three former Hebi were sitting together against one wall. Asuma and Yamato were raiding the kitchenette for snacks. Shikamaru was…

It took Naruto a moment to find the familiar ponytail. The Nara was crouched down next to a table, a cell phone pressed to his ear.

"I'm serious Choji, just stay at home, call in sick tomorrow. I don't care; just don't go in to work. Something big. No, I'm not calling you…what?" The pause was long. "Yeah…I guess you could let the girls know. Tsunade? Tell her to close the store for the day. She'll understand. Don't worry; it'll all be over before you know it. No, I want you to stay away. This isn't like school, these bully's are really big. No, I'm not calling you…"

"Hey, Suigetsu." The bleach blond looked up. Naruto waved him over. There was something that he needed to know, something that had been nagging at him since Suigetsu said it.

"What?" The gunman muttered temperedly. The couch creaked as he sat down.

Naruto couldn't look at the other man. He just sat and stared at his hands.

"You said, earlier, that, Sasuke…sacrificed himself for me. I just wanted to know…what you meant by that?"

Suigetsu chuckled and stretched. His back cracked loudly.

"Look kid, I don't know if you were around the Boss long enough to really get this, but here it is." He pointed a finger at Naruto. "Uchiha Sasuke wouldn't die for anyone that he thought was second-rate, in fact, I don't think that you could make a case if the victim was the hero of the city. But the Boss decided that you were worth giving a chance, even if it meant he had to die. So, I guess that means you're worth something. He wouldn't have done it for me, or Karin or Juugo or anyone else. It was you. I don't know why, but it happened. You can take that however you want to."

And with that, Suigetsu stood. "Now, if we're done here, my woman's waiting."

The blond didn't stop him. He watched Suigetsu trail back to his spot next to Karin. The implications of what the man said…

Naruto's watch beeped.

All eyes turned to him. Everyone knew what the alarm meant.

It was time.

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><p><strong>AN: 'Wow' I can't believe that this is almost over. There are only a few more chapters to go. Thank you to everyone who supported me.**

**On that note I have two announcements:**

**ONE: If you get me to 200 reviews, I will write a gift-fic for the one who writes the 200th review! Insentive. The only stipulation is that I would prefer not to write a pairing that I don't support, but that's neither here nor there. Anyway, that's the deal. SO REVIEW!**

**TWO: I am having a hard time finding a RoyXEd that is 100K+ words, so I decided to write one of my own. I am looking for a BETA who is intimately familiar with the FMA BROTHERHOOD universe, not the first series. If you are this person, or know someone who can help, please PM me.**

**I promise that I will still finish my other stories, with the exception of 'Mortis;, which will be reciveing a major revamping.**

**Thanks for reading this!**

**Until Next Time!**


	25. Chapter25: Beautiful Day

**We're back baby! This is the final chapter of 'My Hero' minus the Epilogue. Thank you everyone who took the time to read and to those of you who reviewed. You are amazing!**

**A General FYI. I will be moving in about a month. I plan to have this story finished before then so you're not left hanging and hating me. This is just to make sure you know I'm not leaving my other stories to rot. I will come back and finish and hopefully have a few more story ideas to christen my return.**

**Here you are. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter_25: Beautiful Day<strong>

The first part of the plan was simple.

They surrounded Hokage tower. Seven figures stood, black against the background painted grey with predawn. One pair of crimson eyes traced over them all.

Naruto could see everything from where he stood from the roof nearby. For the moment he was standing guard, searching for movement; any indication of a trap. He would stay here until the second phase began.

The short-wave radio in his ear buzzed and Shikamaru's calm voice said. "This is Leader. Everyone sound off."

One by one, the resistance called in their affirmatives. Kakashi and Karin to the North; Asuma to the East, Yamato and Juugo at the South end. Finally, Suigetsu reported in. He was hunkered down at the foot of Naruto's building on the West side of Hokage Tower. It was also Naruto's job to make sure the gunman didn't run in early.

Shikamaru wasn't thrilled with the number of pieces he had to maneuver around the board, even with the addition of Karin, Juugo and Suigetsu. Two teams of one wasn't ideal for storming fortified buildings. But the Nara wasn't going to lead them into a slaughter, not if he didn't think that they didn't stand some chance.

Naruto had known Shikamaru for years. He trusted in the brunette's inherent mental prowess. The blond was still, however, a little nervous about his ability to execute his part of the plan. So much depended on him…

"Alright, that's everyone." Shikamaru said. "How does it look from your end, Kyuubi?"

"It looks clear from here." Naruto checked again. Nothing moved besides the restless shifting of his teammates. He could detect no foreign presence. "You're good to go."

The silence thrummed with energized anticipation and then the brunette spoke. He only said one word. "Begin." The one word was the key to chaos.

The next instant, the front door of Hokage tower exploded. Suigetsu's dry laughter could be heard over the interlinked radios. The man swore in elation and yelled something that might have been a battle cry before sprinting for the demolished entrance.

From his perch, Naruto saw the man's thin form disappear into the thick cloud of debris and dirt. As he looked on, six more figures appeared and started towards the tower. It was only the matter of a few seconds and then he was alone outside. Stage One: complete.

For long minutes he waited, listening to the dust settle. He couldn't start his part of the plan until he knew his comrades had engaged the Akatsuki. The quiet was killing him. All he had to concentrate on was the constant dry crackling of the radio tucked neatly into his ear. As soon as the noise began, he was going to start losing friends.

The quiet was blissfully long and mercifully short.

Gunshots sounded over the static in his ear. Kakashi called over the radio. "We have engaged the enemy. Repeat, we have multiple hostiles."

"Go Kyuubi," Shikamaru yelled over the pounding of gunfire. "Now, go now."

It was all the prompting Naruto needed. It was his turn.

The blond hop/stepped backwards to the far edge of the rooftop. He lined himself up and took a single calming breath. He had only had one shot at this. Failure wasn't an option.

He ran. His boots beat against new concrete, digging in, pushing him forward. He pulled in oxygen in slow deep breaths as he stretched farther. Fast, faster…

His feet planted firmly against the lip and Naruto sprung. Every muscle in his newly healed knee strained.

For a moment he hung suspended in air; moving neither forward nor down. And then he was doing both. Inertia and gravity asserted themselves with stomach churning ferocity. Both tugged at his body, forcing him into a wide diagonal plunge. Wind whipped his hair back from his face as he rushed towards tower and ground.

His hands stretched out, reaching, ready to grab hold of a sill or weather pane. But he didn't have the chance to grip of either. It took him a second to realize he had miscalculated. Gravity had pulled him too far down. He was going to go through the window.

A second later he hit.

**.:xXXx:.**

They tossed him back inside his cell which, now that he had time to inspect it, wasn't much more than a dimly lit office. His hands were still tied. But they'd kept his feet free, useful.

Sasuke explored the narrow confines of his prison. A handful of desks were pressed up against the far windowless wall. Save that, the room held nothing. Even the desk drawers were empty.

That didn't mean they were worthless.

The raven extracted one and tossed it to the floor. The drawer itself wasn't what he was after anyway. He leaned over to inspect the opening he'd exposed. By what little light was available, Sasuke could see the guide rails fitted to either side of the drawer slot. The edges weren't extremely sharp, but they would do.

It took some maneuvering, but the raven eased his bound wrists into the aperture. The angle was bad and once or twice the raven had to stop and wait for footsteps to wonder away again. But he kept doggedly on. He didn't have time to waste.

**.:xXXx:.**

Naruto groaned and spat out a mouthful of broken glass. He could feel the gap in his cheek, where the smashed window had torn it open. That was probably where the fragments had come from.

He lay sprawled out, his body surrounded by shards of glittering crystal. He was inside what looked like a small conference room.

The blond eased himself upright. He couldn't hear anything beyond the crunch of glass underfoot. His mask was holed in several places, but it was still holding and so was the rest of him. Beyond that cusury overview of his injuries he seemed fine. He couldn't waste time with a more thorough search. Reaching Sasuke was priority.

The hall was wide, wooden and empty. Naruto started searching for the stairs. He wasn't sure how far he'd fallen. This was going to throw a definite kink in Shikamaru's plan. He was supposed to start his search at the top and work downwards.

The superhero spared a glance at his watch. He had a little over an hour before dawn. Would that be enough time to run to the top floor and then start his search downwards?

"Kill him, let them see." The voice caught him completely by surprise.

Naruto had enough time to duck back into the doorway and the Akatsuki strode past. It was the mad blond one, he remembered from the meeting. The arsonist. The man continued to stride banefully down the corridor. He hadn't seen Naruto. The superhero stole silently into the hall behind his quarry; he could hear the man's continued mumbles.

"Fetch the Uchiha, bring him to me so I can kill him. Yes, Pain, yes master, yes sir." Naruto immediately fell in step with the insane man. This was his ticket to Sasuke.

As the man lead Naruto through a twisting maze of halls and back-rooms the Uzumaki began to realize how well hidden the raven really was.

He heard it. It was there, just at the edge of his senses. Someone was breathing. The steady pulls and exhales lit the target like a beacon when Naruto stopped to listen. He ran, silently, along the corridor, careful to keep the Akatsuki within earshot. The source of that breathing was coming closer, he was almost to it.

He saw the door.

The blond Akatsuki reached out, still grumbling. His hand never reached the knob.

A second later, the man's body hit the floor.

Naruto tore the door open.

Sasuke stared back at him from his seat atop the lone desk inside. The man looked…

The raven stood and began to casually stride over to Naruto. The man even had the gall to look smug. Okay, so his face hadn't changed from its' typical incomprehensibility. It was the eyes. They were bursting with emotion. Naruto wondered if he had suddenly developed empathic telepathy; or if love just did weird things like that.

"You took long enough." Sasuke stopped right in front of him. The man's unbound hands hung at his sides. It took Naruto a second to register that detail.

"You freed yourself?" The blond grabbed Sasuke's wrist to examine it. "Why didn't you just escape?"

The raven made no move to extract his hand from Naruto's grasp. He raised an eyebrow. "Roaming around an enemy's headquarters, injured and without a weapon is, of course, a plan you would come up with, usuratonkachi."

"Okay, okay," Naruto dropped the raven's pale wrist. He gloried in the return of that blasted nickname. "I get it. But why did you just sit around? Were you going to wait for them to kill you?"

"You came."

The blond fought down the pride swelling his chest. Sasuke had been waiting for him. If that wasn't a colossal ego boost…

"But what if I hadn't?" Naruto questioned as the raven walked past him and into the hall. "What would you have done if I couldn't make it to you?"

"You came." Sasuke repeated. The man had his back to Naruto. His voice revealed nothing. But his words, if not the tone, held all the confidence in the world.

They stood in amicable silence for a moment. It was the first breath of fresh air for them both.

"I have to get you out of here." Naruto said at last. He didn't want to spoil the mood, but he had a plan. "Come on."

The raven didn't answer at first. But when Naruto reached out to touch his shoulder, Sasuke moved away. "Pain's office is two floors up."

"That's great." Naruto was lost. "But the window I just came through is on this floor."

"I'm not leaving. If you want a shot at Pain come now."

Without another word, the raven made his way out of his former cell. Naruto watched him as he gingerly stepped over the body of the Akatsuki. Sasuke was 'not limping' on purpose. He had a good handful of injuries Naruto couldn't see just in case the ones he could weren't enough. But the Uchiha wouldn't allow himself be hurt. Stupid pride.

Naruto moved to follow after the raven and saw it. He heard the clatter of metal against wood. The echo of it sounded weird, unreal. The grenade rolled to a halt at Sasuke's feet.

**.:xXXx:.**

He was lucky, lucky.

His torn neck and shoulders didn't feel lucky. But at least he was still alive.

Another minute and their valuable prisoner would have flown the coop. Pain was, however, just a little bit smart. Well, if he'd been smarter, he wouldn't have sent Deidra to check on Sasuke. There wouldn't be much left of their detainee once the blond had finished 'recapturing' him.

After he took off raven's legs, well the Uchiha wouldn't run away. He chuckled at his private joke and waited for the grenade to detonate. It was too bad he couldn't watch at this at close range.

He loved a good explosion.

**.:xXXx:.**

It never came.

Naruto crouched with Sasuke behind a couch. The sound of silence rung madly in his ears, begging for anything to fill it. The seconds ticked by and still there was nothing.

He heard the curse and then the indignant shout. "A dud! I can't believe it; a fluke has ruined my art."

The blond glanced over to see if Sasuke was alright. It was then he saw the grenade. Sasuke was clutching the device tightly in his hands: why it hadn't gone off.

The voice stopped. "Alright Uchiha." When it sounded once again it was much closer; too close for Naruto. They had to find a new hiding place.

He tapped Sasuke's shoulder with his fist. When the raven made eye contact, Naruto tried his best to explain what he was going to do. He wasn't sure how successful he was, but when he lay down onto his back, Sasuke didn't comment.

Naruto breathed and lined up. He drew both legs back, placing them either side of the desk's wide leg-space. A second breath…and then he pushed with all he had. The thick wood slid across the floor with the ease of a figure skater on ice, a three hundred pound figure skater.

The blond flung himself to his feet. He was just in time to watch the Akatsuki leap atop the large projectile, walked casually across it and drop to the ground.

Naruto, without a second thought, slowly paced until he was between his foe and Sasuke. He heard the raven snort behind him, but ignored it. If he looked now, he would just see Sasuke's look, the one that said 'I'm not a woman, usuratonkachi.' Naruto was very well acquainted with the proof of Sasuke's masculinity…very. But it was obvious that the raven wasn't in the best shape. His job was to get Sasuke out of here in one piece. He wasn't going to fail.

The Akatsuki with long blond hair laughed. He reached into a pack slung over his shoulder and pulled out another package. It was a mess of duct tape, wire, detonation clay.

The man cackled and sent it flying towards Sasuke.

**.XX.**

The couch Shikamaru had chosen as refuge from the maelstrom was really nothing more than a mass of stuffing and framework anymore. The steady rain of bullets, however, was not thinning in the slightest. The minor advantage they'd held through surprise was fading quickly. Shikamaru figured that they had half an hour on the outside. Then their ammunition would run out. It wasn't a happy thought.

He glanced at his watch. Ten minutes since they'd stormed the building. Kyuubi was past due to check in.

The brunette tapped his earpiece and was rewarded with a sharp buzz of static.

"Kyuubi, come in. What is your status?"

The answering explosion nearly deafened him.

**.XX.**

"Sasuke."

The raven 'hn'-ed in response. They were both alive and, for the most part, uninjured. From where they crouched inside Sasuke's cell, Naruto could hear the Akatsuki walking around. The blond sighed and sent silent thanks to his reflexes. They were the only thing that had saved them from becoming smears on the wall.

But they weren't safe. This was far from over.

He should have checked that the Akatsuki was dead. He'd been so excited, so impatient to save Sasuke that he'd gotten careless. Now he and Sasuke were paying the price.

Sasuke perched on the other side of the doorframe. His face was blank, but the eyes were alive, searching, analyzing something. What that something was, Naruto didn't know. He still had a hold of the grenade. How he had managed to keep his grip Naruto didn't know, but was very grateful.

"Did I get him?" The blond outside their hiding place muttered to himself. A second later he answered his own question. "Of course I did. Nothing can escape my beautiful

art."

'Sasuke.' Naruto mouthed the raven's name. The man didn't move.

"We have to get out of here."

Black eyes flicked to his face and just as quickly dismissed him.

"But I don't see them. My art could not have destroyed them so completely. Where are they?"

Naruto frowned. "Sasuke. He's going to find us if we stay here."

The raven held up a finger; a signal for silence.

"I have to get you out of here."

The other man's stance didn't change.

Naruto growled. This wasn't how he had envisioned the rescue of Uchiha Sasuke.

"Found you."

Something rolled between them. Naruto looked down in time to see white metallic casing and then the flash grenade went off.

Over the years and through the many instances in Naruto's life, there had been times when his keen senses had gotten him into trouble. This was one of those times. While the flash and bang of the detonation was designed to disorient a human, with Naruto's expanded hearing and eyesight… He caught the brunt of both sound and light full in the face.

It was all the blond could do to crawl away. He couldn't distinguish objects beyond a thin grey outline overshadowed by white. The ringing in his head overpowered his own screams.

"Sasuke," He blinked furiously. "Sasuke, where are you? Are you okay?"

His only answer was the high tone in his ears. "Sasuke." He stumbled towards the door; or so he thought. He pitched headlong into a wall. He slid down to the carpet, scrabbling against the smooth barrier. "Sasuke. Sasuke."

He had no idea where he was. The fall had stolen what little sense of direction he's retained after the explosion. But the Akatsuki was still out there. And so was Sasuke.

**.XX.**

He knew what the device was. He'd seen plenty in his lifetime. He knew their purpose; knew enough to cover his head and close his eyes a split second before the device detonated. There was no chance to warn Naruto. The idiot had stared at the grenade like it was the ninth wonder. There was no chance to do it now. The blond was at that moment sliding down the far wall. He would be no help in his current condition. Now, Sasuke was fighting for both their lives.

The Akatsuki he identified as 'Deidra' charged deep into the room, cackling madly. The man gripped an explosive device; one in each hand. One visible blue eye rolled around in search of his prey. It settled on Naruto's shaky, uncoordinated movements.

Sasuke was not a man given to cursing. But in that split second, four letters arranged themselves into a word that would have his mother rolling in her grave. And then there was no time for superfluous thought or feeling. There was only action.

The missile erupted from the Akatsuki's hand. Sasuke recognized the design. It was an impact detonator.

He acted.

The grenade made a sticky prickly sound as it left his palm, like tearing Velcro. It didn't have far to travel.

The two explosive devices collided in midair right in front of Deidra.

Sasuke had enough time to cover his face before his world was engulfed in heat and light.

**.XX.**

He was still calling out his lover's name. He didn't know how long. He only knew two things: that his throat hurt and he wasn't going to stop until the raven answered.

His hearing was coming back and so was his sight. He had always been a fast healer. But this time, the seconds seemed to drag on, their own separate eternity. The world around him had darkened somewhat. At least he could distinguish between the wall and the carpet now.

Naruto blinked rapidly. It didn't help, but it was all he could do, well that and call out for Sasuke.

"-sur-hi…"

"What?" The blond rolled to his uninjured side. He searched the room with bleary, unfocused eyes. He saw two lumps on floor. Any distinguishing features were lost in the white wash that was his vision.

"Sasuke." He tried. "Sasuke."

One of the two forms moved. It was propped up against the far wall next to what looked like a doorway.

"-us…era..on…hi…"

"Sasuke? Is it you? Are you okay?"

He was by the figures' side. His hearing was mainly recovered. The ringing had retreated to a moderately dull tone at the back of his head. He was close enough to hear the Uchiha's words.

"Stop yelling, usuratonkachi, or another will come."

Naruto was so happy he could have wept for the joy. "Are you…" He pulled down the mask and said. "Are you okay?"

The answer was a long time in coming. And when it did, it punched Naruto hard in the stomach.

"No."

He wanted to deny it, but slowly, ever so slowly, he was beginning to see it. The image came into focus, his vision clearing like dirt settling in water. He almost wished it hadn't.

Sasuke lay in a pool of blood which still flowed from dozens of cuts all over his body. His clothing was being sluggishly saturated. The only part of him that still looked alive were his eyes. They stared back at Naruto with unerring focus.

The blond moved to embrace Sasuke. The raven pushed his hands away. As if summoning the last of his strength and pride, the Uchiha moved Naruto away from himself. He wouldn't allow himself to be injured. The man's pride was too great to let him be weak, even in front of Naruto; especially in front of Naruto.

Naruto knelt beside the man. He tried to reach for the raven again. Once more he was pushed away. "Sasuke."

"Leave me."

The blond shook his head. "I have to get you out of here. They'll come for you and execute you if I don't get out of the building now."

Sasuke was trying to staunch one of his larger cuts with a torn portion of his shirt. It wasn't doing much. "Your friends downstairs are distraction enough for the moment."

Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but Sasuke turned to stare unwaveringly at him. His voice caught. Instead, he choked out. "I…can't just leave you here…I…can't…"

"Go, find Pain. End this."

Naruto said nothing for long moments. The war was silent. But at last, he nodded. "I'll come back for you. I promise I'll come back and rescue you." He stood to leave.

"Naruto,"  
>The blond turned. Sasuke was staring at him, but it was different. Naruto had never seen that look in the raven's eyes. A pale hand reached out and Naruto's joined it, lacing fingers together, sweetly, unconsciously.<br>"I have two boons to collect."  
>Naruto didn't know what to say. Torn between laughing at the absolute absurdity of the statement and weeping at its' incredible sweetness; he shook his head at last, showering golden spikes across scarred cheeks. "Now isn't the time-"<br>"Anything that I want, anytime that I want it, no complaints..." Sasuke interrupted smoothly. He sounded like his normal self. If Naruto closed his eyes, he could almost forget the bloody, torn man that was his lover now.  
>"Okay, okay, I get it, fine." The blond man huffed. It was better than crying. "What do you what, bastard?"<br>The Uchiha's other hand lifted to his chin and before Naruto realized it, he was being drawn down into a kiss. Softness, elegance, sweetness. The wonder of such tenderness was more than Naruto's body could contain. He trembled and the Sasuke pulled back until raven locks were resting against the walls cold surface.  
>The man looked at Naruto for a moment, his eyes containing more than the blond could ever have hoped for. And then he spoke, and the words were even more.<br>"Come back."  
>Naruto thought his heart would explode. It wasn't a confession. It was Sasuke saying that he was worried about Naruto. It was Sasuke saying he wanted Naruto to come back. It was Sasuke saying that he wanted to make a way beyond their horrible past when this was over.<br>It wasn't 'I love you.' It was so much more.  
>The blond breathed deep. His voice was shaky. "What about the second?"<br>Sasuke's eyes were unreadable, unknowable. This too was an expression Naruto had never seen.  
>The fingers on his chin dropped, resting on the bloodied cloth covering the raven's thigh.<br>"Sasuke..."  
>"Forgive me."<br>Naruto didn't cry. He felt the tears lodge in his throat. This would never happen again, this venerability, and he treasured it. He loved this man with all his heart.

"I'll be back." He managed. "I'll come for you."

He leaned in again to claim the raven's lips. He didn't know exactly what was exchanged in that moment, but it was large and beautiful and terrifying. It was bigger than the kiss they had shared in Sasuke's car. It was exponentially more immense and intimidating than their lovemaking. It was everything he had and knew and felt. It was a promise. It was his own 'I love you'.

He poured himself into this embrace, into Sasuke, the man he loved.

When they broke apart Sasuke chuckled. Naruto felt a palm against his forehead. He glanced at the raven, but Sasuke was staring at the wall.

"Idiot," The raven said. "This isn't goodbye."

That was how Konan found them.

"Hero."

Naruto jerked. His first instinct was to protect Sasuke, but as he moved to shield the wounded man, the famous Akatsuki shook her head once.

"Come with me."

The blond growled at Konan, his teeth bared. The woman seemed unconcerned. She glanced from his face to the Uchiha's still form and back to Naruto.

"Leave him. He has served his purpose. We have no further designs against that one."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked. "You used Sasuke to lure us here? Was it a trap all along?"

Konan didn't answer for long moments. She seemed to be considering something. "Pain is waiting." She turned and walked away.

Naruto glanced one last time at Sasuke. The raven didn't look back.

Naruto followed.

**.XX.**

Konan lead him up stairs, through corridors, past endless rows of rooms. Higher and higher they climbed until Naruto wondered how he had fallen so far from the top. They emerged at last; the narrow hall broadening outwards into a wide, vast chamber. The blond thought it might utilize the entire circumference of Hokage tower. This was where, under normal circumstances, the Hokage would reign. These were not normal circumstances.

Pain stood in the center, a lone pillar in the otherwise empty expanse. The red-haired man made no move to acknowledge either Konan or Naruto. His eyes, however, warped and purple, trained unwaveringly upon his guest.

The blond stared back.

Suddenly, he was remembering every Captain Kakashi comic he had ever read. It was always like this. The hero always got a final confrontation with the big boss villain. And it was always then that the villain explained his evil motives. That was obviously what was happening now.

"Why?" His voice echoed back to him as he spoke. "Why do you want Konoha? Why did you do this?"

But the other man didn't answer. He didn't speak.

He just attacked.

Only Naruto's reflexes saved him. He leapt back and felt the whip of the man's fist as it brushed past his nose and down to the floor. The wood underfoot splintered and buckled with impact.

The blond backpedaled quickly, but Pain was up and after him, a lightning strike. Blow after blow rained down with such speed and ferocity, it was all Naruto could do not to become a splatter on the wall.

Thankfully, Konan had elected to remain ringside, or he would have no chance.

If he could only find some way to get Pain to stumble, just for a second; then he might be able to turn the tables in his favor.

His foot caught on the shattered oak flooring.

The blond fell.

He hit the floor. Splinters gouged painfully for the fraction of a second before Naruto thrust his legs back over his head. He somersaulted backwards and felt the scrape of the knifeblade whisper along the back of his neck. Skin broke. The sharp scent of iron rushed to his nostrils.

He stumbled to his feet. Pain hadn't followed him. The man stood mercifully far away from him, a newly drawn blade shining crimsoned in his fingers.

Naruto gulped down air in an effort to steady his pounding heart. The curve of his neck along his spine stung. He could feel blood trickling down his back. One hand rose to wipe at it.

Pain rushed in again.

The man gave no time to think this time. There was instinct and there was death. Naruto had heard and felt the hot breath of bullets whip past him, heard their sweet melody as they rocketed past his body. But in the redhead's hands, the knife was singing a bullet's death song with each pass and strike.

On they danced; their deadly steps and flourishes.

Pain had drawn first blood, but Naruto wasn't finished; not by a long shot.

The blond backed up, skipping just out of the knife's range again and again. His heel struck the wall behind him and Naruto leapt.

Pain lunged just as the Naruto's feet connected with the wall's unyielding surface. The blond pushed with all his might and rushed forward with all the force of a jet rocket.

Hero and villain collided, the crash titanic. Naruto struck out at the man's unprotected face and torso; once, twice, thrice. He hit over and over, the body under him jerking under the impact.

He heard the shot. Agony bit deeply into his ribs and he gasped in surprised horror.

Pain kicked out at Naruto's chest. The force of it had the blond sliding across the room, a bloody trail marking his way.

Naruto stood, his legs trembling. Where Pain had retrieved the gun he didn't know. There were too many pockets in the man's coat to be certain. But really, the where wasn't important. He had been shot. He could feel the hot lead sinking into his guts, scorching a painful path through his innards. Pain had not gone unscathed. The other man's face and neck were riddled with quickly forming bruises and cuts. A trickle of crimson dribbled down the man's chin as he swayed lightly back and forth on his feet.

"Why?" Naruto asked again. "Why are you doing this? What do you want?"

There was no reason for Pain to answer, no president set to expect the man would. But now was different. Perhaps pain had loosened the man's tongue, encouraged some form of generosity from him.

Only the man's lips moved when he answered. It was only one word.

"Justice."

Naruto shook his head and pressed a hand to his side. Warmth continued to seep through his fingers. "That's…not right. It's, this isn't justice."

The man regarded him with something like dispassionate mockery. "Is what you are justice, Kyuubi? We both kill, we both destroy; each in the name of something we believe must be. But there is a difference between you and I. I build up again. I tear down the corruption, cut out the cancer and establish order in its place. Konoha was a dying city begging for the end. I gave them hope, a purpose. What are you?"

Pain took at slow step forward and was suddenly standing before Naruto.

Naruto didn't even have time to gasp in surprise before the gun was pressed into his ribs.

"You are a child, with childish ideas."

Naruto felt the heat and concussion split his side open. He screamed and tried to pull away. But Pain held him close.

"You think that because you dream that nothing can stand in your way."

The next shot tore apart Naruto's shoulder as it exited his body.

"You think that because you mean well, that makes everything you've done right. What about all the men you've killed? Do your pretences make them any less dead?"

Naruto didn't even feel the bullet when it passed through him. His head swam. If not for Pains' arm wrapped around his waist he would have fallen, irony.

"No…" He breathed. "That's not…true, it's…not."

"Your play world is dying." Pain murmured against his ear. "It's time you died with it."

_Was it true? Was Pain right? Was the only difference between them…pretence? Was justice really what he fought for, could justice make what he'd done right? No._

The muzzle pressed into what remained of his ribs. His fingers curled around it, pushing the heated metal away. Resolute eyes stared up at the redheaded Akatsuki.

"You're wrong."

His fist connected sharply with the man's torso, jerking him back a step. It was all the breathing room Naruto needed. The gun was torn from Pain's hand, spinning off uselessly.

The Akatsuki leader leapt backwards, avoiding Naruto's powerful kick by a hairs-breath. The blond didn't pursue him, but stood and spoke.

"We're only human," He said. "You and I. We're not gods' or angels. We can only do the best we can with what we've got." His brows furrowed slightly. "Maybe what I did was wrong. Maybe I deserve to die for my actions. Maybe you're the one who's going to do it. But I know that before I do, I will at least take you with me."

Pain nodded. There were no more words to be said. Only battle remained.

They clashed, tore and ripped. It was no more the testing and toying from before. It was death.

Naruto's claws carved out a handful of flesh from Pain's shoulder, spurting blood across the floor. Pain's foot smashed into Naruto's head, showering his vision in sparks and stars.

Teeth and knifeblade flashed. The floor dripped crimson. Clothing and flesh both torn asunder. Lips cracked, swollen from blows, limbs weary. Still they fought. Breaths came in ragged gasps, uneven pulls for oxygen, muddied by coagulating blood from broken noses and pools of icor dried in scored throats.

In this battle neither had the upper hand. Pain had dealt Naruto great damage, but the blond had done his own in turn.

They grappled together at last, each gripping the other to avoid further punishment. Red met warped purple and Naruto panted angrily into Pain's expressionless face.

"What will happen when you kill me hero?" The man asked. "Do you believe that Konoha will ever be the same? They have tasted freedom and justice. They will never willingly accept a substitute."

Naruto growled and shook his head. But the seeds of doubt had been planted. His mind fed it and it flowered into fear. What if everything he had done, all he'd sacrificed, wasn't enough? Would Konoha really follow this mad man even unto death?

Pain's words sent cold through his bones. "And in the end, what will you and your friends be but murderers? You will be hunted down one by one. Would you expect anything less from those who love me?"

"If that's love," Naruto spat. "Then I think Konoha is better off without it!"

He dropped to the floor. Pain overbalanced and followed. His body didn't hit the floor. Naruto kicked out with all his strength.

The Akatsuki crashed through the roof with a shower of plaster and debris. Naruto leapt up a second later.

They were on top of Hokage tower now. The sun was threatening to peek over the far mountains.

He spotted Pain on the far side, staring down at the ground thirty stories down.

"Look at them." The man murmured, almost too quietly for Naruto to hear. "They are still ants. They scurry and gather together in useless unity. Even as one they are weak and simpleminded."

Pain's next words were shouted. They echoed loudly to the crowds far below, gathered to witness the exsecution of Uchiha Sasuke.

"Come here Hero, Come and see the children you believe are worth saving."

Cautiously, Naruto walked to the side. He gazed down at the multitudes below his feet.

"Is it time for retribution Konoha?" Pain called.

The people screamed.

"Is it time for your revenge on those who oppressed and terrorized you?"

They cheered.

"Have you come to see a man die?"

Konoha's cries only grew louder.

"These are the fools you think you can save." Pain said to Naruto. "They call for another's blood. What are you that you can drag them from this pit they have sunk themselves in?"

Naruto's fists clenched, his head hung. "It's not me." He said. "It's them. I have to have faith in them, because if I didn't believe that they had the power to see the truth, then I might as well have given up eight years ago." He stared sadly at the people. "And even if they won't fight for themselves, that's why I'm here. That's the reason I was born. That's why I was given these gifts. I will give everything that I am because I…"

The blond smiled at Pain.

"…because if I wouldn't die for them, what kind of a superhero would I be?"

Pain stared back, unblinking, unreadable. Naruto shifted uneasily and braced himself for another attack.

But the man turned instead.

"People of Konoha." He shouted. "I have lied and used you."

The cheering ceased. Utter silence reigned.

"You are nothing but pawns in this vast chess board, easily manipulated and disposable. I think you all pathetic for believing I offer you anything but a pretty cage."

Shouts of outrage could be heard from below as the full impact of Pain's sunk in. But the man was not finished.

"I have delivered you from what petty gangs and criminals you feared into the hands of a force greater and more malevolent then you can understand. Know this and shiver when you try to sleep. Close your eyes and know that the lives you knew are coming to an end."

He spoke to Naruto once more. The cries of outrage could be heard clearly despite the distance down. "You have bought your precious city a short time. That is all. The end is coming for them and there is nothing you can do to stop it."

It happened so slowly Naruto didn't realize until Pain had tipped off the side.

"No!"

He sprang to the edge. But all he could do was watch as the man with red hair struck the pavement far below.

Naruto heaved, the contents of his stomach upending themselves onto the concrete. The sounds of his repeated wrenching mingled with the crowds angry shouts until nothing was left for him to give to the ground.

It was over.

He just had one thing left to do.

**.XX.**

Iruka ran to Kakashi, throwing his arms around the man's neck and squeezing as hard as he could. His boyfriend chuckled softly and returned the embrace.

"Hi," Iruka's voice was calm. His death grip around Kakashi's body betrayed his false self-control.

"Hi yourself." Kakashi whispered back, rubbing circles on his lover's back.

"We did it."

"We did it."

"We survived."

"Yeah."

"Pain's gone for good."

"For good."

"Did, did everyone make it?"

The blond man nodded and then stopped. His hand paused mid-stroke. He pulled back to look into Iruka's warm brown eyes.

"Kakashi…" The brunette's voice was shaky. "Where's Naruto?"

A cry rose up from the crowd, mingled cheering, gasping and dismay.

Both men turned and Iruka's gasp joined the rest.

Naruto stumbled from the entrance, holding a limp figure to his chest. As a hundred thousand eyes watched the blond collapsed on the sidewalk, flecking the pavement with crimson. But the body he carried was lowered gently, lovingly to the ground. The man's head rested placidly against Naruto's chest, his body cradled between Naruto's legs, almost as if the two were watching the sun rise together.

Iruka looked at his foster child and his heart sank even as Kakashi pushed his way towards the pair.

Tears slid silently down scared cheeks, gleaming in the warm glow of pre-dawn as quivering sobs shook the man's body.

Naruto smiled as the first rays of the sun kissed his face. Slowly he rocked the man in his arms, back and forth, back and forth.

"Look Sasuke." He whispered. "It's going to be a beautiful day."

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><p><strong>AN: 'Speaks from cover' I'm sorry. I'll get the epilodue to you in one week. Cross my heart and hope to die. Thank you all for sticking with me. You've been wonderful and supportive.**

**Please review. I will write a giftfic for the 200th reviewer.**

**Until next time.**


	26. Chapter26: New Day

**I'm reposting this because I wasn't happy with how I'd ended it. You guys deserve something that wasn't thrown together in the last minute. So, with a lot of consideration, here is the second Epilogue.**

**Props to Rikado and Ovicati. You be bomb.**

**This is unBeta-d. All mistakes are my own.**

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><p><strong>Epilogue: New Day<strong>

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><p><em>First Public Address: Police Commissioner Hatake Kakashi. To the people of Konoha, June 21st.<em>

"People of Konoha, one year ago today we suffered a devastating blow to the freedoms, morals and liberties we take so for granted. Three hundred and sixty-five days ago, a man named Pain, a man who came to devour this city, died. He and his comrades trapped us all in a regime of illusions and magical promises.

"That regime was broken, thanks to seven stupid men and women who thought they could change the world. Those brave individuals were willing to give up everything they had; even to die for what they knew was right. They knew that the freedom of Konoha must be bought for a price. And that price was heavy.

"The loss of even a single life is worth morning; even those we thought were tyrants.

"And so we must remember. It is our duty and our honor to consider those who have fallen for our newfound freedom. But we cannot allow ourselves to grow mired in that memorial. We must move past this tragedy. We must prove to the 'Pain's' of this world that we are not afraid of what lies ahead. We are a strong people and we will rebuild, regain what was lost in those six months.

"It has already begun. Two of Pain's accomplices have been tried and sentenced. They will never bring another city to its knees. We have begun to rebuild. Our economy has grown. New jobs spring up every day. We live more, love more, appreciate more than ever before.

"We are a hard-working people. Show the gangs and thugs that we don't need them to survive. We will move beyond the mistakes of the past. Kick them to the curb and continue to live in the best way you can.

"But as we step into a new economic age, I charge you: do not forget those who gave of themselves to stop Pain. People like Nara Shikamaru, Karin, Suigetsu, Saratobi Asuma, Umino Iruka, Uchiha Sasuke and our masked man, Kyuubi. Do not forget the innocent names tarnished and torn apart by Akatsuki.

No matter what tragedy befalls our great city, the devastation that overruns our lives, our homes, we must never forget who our Hero's are and what they have sacrificed."

**.:xXXx:.**

**_Konoha General Hospital- One Year Ago_**

"_Are you sure, Naruto?" Kakashi glanced at the doctor standing silently in the corner. "You're a hero to Konoha. Do you really want to leave?"_

_The blond nodded and continued to stare at the still form on the hospital bed. All around him, monitors trilled. "I didn't become Kyuubi to be a hero. I did it to protect the people I love."_

_Blue eyes flicked up to meet grey. "There's nothing for me here anymore."_

_Kakashi nodded once and turned to the doctor. "Do it."_

_The man scribbled something quickly onto the clipboard he held in his hands and left._

"_There you go." The white-haired man said quietly. "That's all I can do."_

_Naruto stuck out his hand to shake. Kakashi gripped it. The blonds' eyes were filled to the brim with gratitude and sadness._

_This was, after all, goodbye._

"_It's more than I could have ever hoped for."_

**.:xXXx:.**

Naruto woke, as he always did: slowly.

He grunted and groggily stretched out his hand to the other side of the bed. It was, as ever, empty and cold.

He didn't know why he kept reaching for Sasuke after a year's worth of mornings. Maybe he hoped that one day he would push his fingers out and feel warm skin and silky, sleep rumpled hair. All he ever felt were cold pillows and sheets.

The blond man sighed and stretched. He rolled out of bed and to his feet, blinking down sleepily at the clean floor. Quietly he slipped into the hall in search of breakfast.

The smell of French toast and bacon frying greeted his newly aroused senses.

Naruto smiled as he padded into the kitchen.

A lone figure stood at the stove, studiously considering the piece of toast in the skillet before him.

The blond sauntered up wrapped his arms around the slender chest, burying his nose into the thick black spikes at the man's nape.

He breathed in deeply, loving how Sasuke's addictive scent washed over his brain and sent tiny tingling fingers over his skin. He heard the brunette's breathing deepen ever so slightly. It was the only outward indication that Sasuke was enjoying the contact.

"You always wake up so early." Naruto mumbled into the raven's neck. "You should wait for me to wake up one of these days."

He felt Sasuke smile, ever so slightly. When the raven smiled his tiny, incredible smile, his whole body relaxed. There was so much more, Naruto was finding out, to Sasuke then cunning and jaded sarcasm. Whenever the Uchiha spoke to him he could hear the affection, however hard Sasuke tried to hide it. Maybe his arsenal of superpowers had just developed Sasuke-telepathy. Or maybe love really did do crazy things to a person. It didn't matter. The important part was that Sasuke's affection was something only he understood. Where Iruka and Shikamaru saw apathy and heard only arrogance, he saw love and heard only affection. It was subtle and implied. Heaven forbid Sasuke ever say anything as sappy and romantic as 'I care about you.' But even if the words were never there, the actions were. Making breakfast every morning, the way he was gentle during their lovemaking, the way he smiled. Yes, the raven had begun smiling; secretly and so small that no one else could see, but Naruto saw and he loved it. It was something only he could have. The beautiful smiles were just for him.

He nestled deeper into Sasuke's warmth, savoring the intimacy of the moment. The raven's next words, however, utterly destroyed the warm fuzzies flitting around in his tummy.

"Someone has to make you real food, usuratonkachi."

This was an old argument. And, as always, Naruto felt his ire skyrocket with its' resurgence. He released the raven and folded his arms, even if Sasuke wasn't looking at him.

"I eat great. Ramen isn't the devil, Sasuke. And for your information, I survived just fine before you were around to mother me." His rejoinder wasn't new either.

"Just sit down at the table." Sasuke forked the last piece of toast onto a platter and moved to the dining room.

Their flat wasn't huge, larger than Naruto's first apartment, but small enough to reflect Sasuke's slightly diminished assets. Okay, so 'diminished assets' was kind of a joke between them. They were living off a rather substantial cut of the newly rebuilt _Sound's_ profits. But they still have to be careful. A 'dead' man couldn't write checks after all.

Now that Sasuke had been cleared of all charges (since he had been declared dead a year ago), the sheep of Konoha were bleating at his club's door, ready to assuage their guilty consciences with a few rounds. It was a twisted sort of memorial, but Sasuke was making more in effigy than he did while he was 'alive'. And Suigetsu was more than willing to be the front man for the sympathetic crowds.

Naruto had heard rumors that the blond gunman and a certain red-head were tying the knot. But he also heard about Suigetsu's gruesome demise at the hands of that same red-headed woman so he couldn't be sure. Either way, they were still together and from all reports, quiet noisy…er,…happy with their arrangement.

In fact, happiness seemed to be something of a buzz-word amongst Naruto's immediate circle of friends.

Asuma was reunited with his wife. Their second child was due around Christmas.

The restaurant was fine, busy as always. Tsunade and the gang were sorry to see him leave, but were raking in the dough since the grand re-opening.

Kiba and Hinata were working on their third son and their seventh litter of puppies.

Iruka, of course, was more than happy.

Naruto had only talked to his step father a handful of times after leaving Konoha with Sasuke. But the older man wasn't angry with his son's choice. He was glad Naruto had found his precious person and told him as much.

Kakashi was still in the picture.

The former model had become the Commissioner and had actually moved in a few months previously. It was good to know that Iruka would be taken care of, even if Naruto wasn't around to do it.

Actually, not much had happened beyond the rebuilding of Konoha. In fact, the most surprising change was Shikamaru's decision to join Konoha Police Department. After the man played lead witness in the trial that convicted Hidan, he had gained some notoriety in the criminal justice side of the city. The Nara was in the middle of taking his test for 'detective'. The new job title would suit him better. Shikamaru didn't strike Naruto as a coffee shop and donuts kind of guy, no matter how troublesome the man said writing out tickets was. But it wasn't as though Shikamaru's job was all that stressful now that the gangs were gone.

In his march to power, Pain had destroyed everything he came in contact. It was odd to think that they had that mad man to thank for the new peace.

"Hey," The raven knocked him lightly on the head with knuckles. "I didn't make it so you could stare at it."

Naruto grinned and captured the pale digits in his hand, lacing them together. One slender eyebrow rose in response, but the raven made no move to extricate his fingers from the intimate gesture.

Everything was as it should be. In this moment, he, Uzumaki Naruto was eating breakfast with his precious person, Uchiha Sasuke.

Later, once the dishes were washed and dried and properly put away they would go to their room and make love. Sasuke would worship every inch of tan skin, speaking three words to him over and over with his hands, lips and tongue. The words that were never spoken, but ever between them.

It was those three words that made Naruto lean forward. It was them that beckoned him taste the sweetness of Sasuke's mouth.

The raven did not pull away, nor did he seem surprised by the unsolicited affection. A year spent living with Naruto would, to a certain extent, cauterize someone to shock.

Instead, it was Sasuke who continued to surprise Naruto and did once more then.

Fingers curled into the nape of Naruto's neck, guiding him closer. His own tanned arms wound slowly around Sasuke's broad shoulders, the tips of fingers toying with a stray spike of silky hair.

Heads tilted, lips parted, breaths mingled tongues slid together in a rhythm as old as time itself.

Naruto felt joy well up within his very soul. Every time they touched, every time they kissed, he knew.

There were moments he missed Konoha, his father, Shikamaru, the gang at leaf, Asuma, Yamato and Kakashi.

He had made his choice a year ago, the choice to stay with Sasuke, to die with him. The time for regret, if he had ever considered feeling it, was long over.

But even as he took in the raven's cloying taste against his tongue, he knew. He would never regret his choice. The life he had in Konoha was a thing of the past, a distant blurred memory.

His place was here, beside the man he loved.

Pale fingers drew them apart. Naruto panted for long moments, allowing himself to be overwhelmed by the love and longing he felt for the raven-haired beauty sitting in front of him.

No, he could never regret Sasuke.

The raven surprised him with the touch of a pale forehead against his own. This was like his smiles like the one on his face. It was just for him, just in front of Naruto.

"Idiot," Sasuke smiled. "Breakfast is still getting cold."

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><p><strong>AN: I still can't believe that this story is finished. I know I haven't updated Men are from Mars yet. I will. I just haven't gotten the inspiration for the next chapter. It will be completed. I finished this one after all.<strong>

**Thank you all who reviewed and supported me through this fiasco (sp?). You've brought joy to my heart.**

**Until next time.**


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